Nehru will remain in India however hard Modi and BJP try, says Sanjay Raut at Mumbai event

Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP at a programme titled "Bharat Bhagyavidhata" at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai on the 137th birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Raut said that however hard they tried to break Nehru's statues, Nehru would remain in this country to the end. He backed Nehru's ideas.

The programme was organised by the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee. Raut said Nehru was a true champion of individual freedom. According to him, however much Nehru was criticised, he did not take vindictive action against his opponents.

Pointing to the current political situation, Raut said in a jibe that Nehru did not send the ED or the CBI to raid the homes of those who criticised him.

Citing Nehru's tolerance, Raut mentioned the noted cartoonist Shankar. He said Shankar drew cartoons of Nehru, but Nehru took no action against him. Raut said that today, action could be taken against anyone who drew such a cartoon of the Prime Minister.

Raut said Nehru was a secular and farsighted leader. He said Nehru tried to set the country on the path of scientific progress through the Bhakra-Nangal dam, the IIT institutions and the development of the atomic energy sector. Raut also said Nehru's thinking in giving a place in the Cabinet to people with different views was important.

Former MP Kumar Ketkar also spoke on the importance of Nehru's ideas. He said the world today faces war-like conditions, and Nehru's thinking on peace and global cooperation needs to be adopted. Ketkar said that giving every citizen the right to vote after Independence was a major achievement of Indian democracy. He also said Nehru's global outlook could still show the way.

Harshwardhan Sapkal, Raut and Ketkar were joined at the programme by many figures from the political, social and cultural fields. Dignitaries from various fields were also felicitated on the occasion.