India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. File | Photo credit: AFP
On Monday, Congress paid tribute to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday, saying India in the 21st century cannot be imagined without his tremendous contribution.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party leader Sonia Gandhi and AICC General Secretary in charge of KC organization Venugopal among others offered floral tributes at the Nehru Shanti Van memorial in New Delhi.
Several party leaders have paid glowing tributes on social media to the Congress stalwart.
Born in 1889, Nehru remains India’s longest serving prime minister. He was Prime Minister between August 1947 and May 1964. He died on May 27, 1964.
In a tweet, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Pandit Nehru – the creator of modern India. The 21st India cannot be imagined without his tremendous contribution. “A champion of democracy, his progressive thoughts have fostered India’s social, political and economic development despite the challenges. My humble tribute to a true patriot,” he said.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that the Bharat Jodo Yatra is in Hingoli district and coincidentally a book on Nehru in Marathi has just been released in addition to the one in English and Hindi. “(Mo)Distorians will continue to distort, defame and denigrate but Nehru continues to inspire and his relevance has only increased after 2014,” Ramesh tweeted.
He said 600 copies of Nehru’s iconic The Discovery of India will be distributed at Yatris on Monday. The copies were brought by a volunteer who traveled all the way from Delhi for 23 hours straight at very short notice, he said.
Congress, from its official Twitter account, said: “India’s first Prime Minister, Pt. Nehru was a social democrat who coveted a welfare state.” “He was a secular humanist who sought national development on all fronts, including agriculture and science. Today, on his birthday, we celebrate his endearing legacy,” said the left.
PM Modi recalls Nehru’s contribution to the country
On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his birthday and recalled his contribution to the country.
Mr Modi tweeted: “On his birthday tribute to our former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Ji. We also remember his contribution to our nation.
