On concluding the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, Congress prince
Rahul Gandhi expressed his views on the prevailing political scenario in the
country. He said, “I lost my grandmother and my father in the fight against
terrorism. How can Modi and Amit Shah even empathize my grief?” Seeing him
speak his heart out, the violent acts of terrorism that took place in Punjab,
Kashmir and the Pakistan-sponsored terrorist activities that have been carried
out in the country over the last 20-25 years flashed before my eyes.
Let us begin with Punjab. For over two decades, Punjab
had been experiencing terrorist attacks. There are sufficient attributes to
show how, in order to end the supremacy of Akali Dal in Punjab, the then
Congress’ national leadership was instrumental in giving rise to Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale. Hundreds of innocent Khalistani fell victim to the violence of
the terrorists. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had ordered the Indian
Army to capture Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who had lodged with his
supporters at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. One of the biggest internal
security operation till date, ‘Operation Blue Star’ was aimed at neutralising
the terrorists ensconced in the Golden Temple. This had severe ramifications
and as an aftermath, the act was avenged by the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
The act of revenge for this operation did not stop
there. The Army chief at that time, General Arun Kumar Vaidya was also killed
by the terrorists after this Operation Blue Star. After this operation and
after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, riots broke out in many places across
the country. Hundreds of Sikhs lost their lives during the riots in Delhi. Later,
an inquiry commission was instituted which found out how Congress leaders HKL
Bhagat, Sajjankumar and Jagdish Tytler were behind the riots. The then ruling
Congress government had neither initiated any steps to investigate the riots
nor punished the accused.
Unfortunately, while talking about the sacrifices of his
family, the Congress prince failed to mention the sacrifices made by General
Arun Kumar Vaidya, Lala Jagat Narayan who was the editor of Punjab Kesari, the
25 Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh volunteers who were assassinated in 1989 when
terrorists had opened fire on the Sangh shakha in Moga in Punjab and the
innocent lives that were lost during the riots in Delhi. In fact, General Arun
Kumar Vaidya had also sacrificed for the country like Indira Gandhi, still
Rahul Gandhi forgot to mention Vaidya’s sacrifice.
Many freedom fighters sacrificed their lives in the
fight against the British. Freedom fighters like Swatantryaveer Savarkar
suffered endless torture in the Andaman jail. His house was burned to ashes.
Revolutionaries like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru,
Sukhdev and others sacrificed their lives for the country. Don’t you think the
grief of their families was as grave as that of Rahul Gandhi?
The Congress ruled over the country for many years since
independence. But the Congress never showed the wisdom of paying tribute to the
struggle of any of these leaders by erecting their memorials. The Modi
government, on the other hand, recently erected a grand statue of Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose near India Gate in Delhi to pay homage to his contribution to the
freedom struggle. Unfortunately, for the last 75 years, a narrative was being
set that the country got independence only due to the sacrifices made by the
Nehru and Gandhi families. Had Rahul Gandhi expressed condolences and
empathised with the sacrifices made by the families of revolutionaries and
freedom fighters like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru,
Sukhdev and others, while counting on the innumerable sacrifices made by his
grandmother and his mother, it wouldn’t have lessened the sacrifices made
either by Indiraji or Rajivji. But both the Congress and its prince have got
into the habit of repeatedly talking high and capitalizing only the sacrifices
made by the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The Congress leadership at that time might not have even
imagined the challenges it had posed to the security of the country and how
detrimental could Bhindranwale and the Khalistan issues would be. In fact, it
was politics that gave rise to the Punjab issue. Also, one cannot deny the fact
that only Congress and Indira Gandhi were behind all that had happened in
Punjab. It took almost 20 years to curb terrorism in Punjab. Didn’t Rahul
Gandhi ever feel the need to meet up and apologize to the innocent Sikh
families who were victims of the Delhi riots. No one will deny the martyrdom of
Indiraji and Rajiv Gandhi. But while glorifying their martyrdom, it will be
presumptuous to expect Rahul Gandhi to realize that he is diminishing the value
of sacrifices made by others by constantly talking about how he and his family
only had been sacrificing for the country.
Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any other
leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party has ever passed any inappropriate remark
against the martyrdom of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. But still, Rahul
Gandhi constantly passing remarks against them, is inappropriate. Till date,
the Congress and its leadership have only resorted to narrating one-sided
stories about the sacrifices made by the Nehru – Gandhi family. And as a
result, hundreds of institutions have been named after the members of this
family only. Not only this, but many government awards are also named after the
members of this family. But now, the country is gradually getting relieved from
this burden. Now, the common man is getting acquainted with the sacrifices of
families of others and the achievements of leaders who have also contributed
towards building the country since independence. In such a situation, what worries
Rahul Gandhi is whether this will lead to the fading out of the identity of his
family in future. I sincerely hope, that at least now, Rahul Gandhi realises
and empathizes with the sacrifices of others in the freedom struggle as well.
(Article Pre-Published in Times of
India Online – 06 Feb. 2023)
Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson
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