Addressing the 125th birth anniversary event of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, top Congress leaders including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi have come forward to criticise PM Narendra Modi over rising intolerance in the country.
'Secular values of the country are in danger'
Manmohan Singh slammed Modi for pursuing "his own interests" and said that secular values of the country are in danger.
"Secular values of the country are in danger under the present regime," said Singh while addressing a mammoth gathering at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. "Wherever he (Modi) goes, he pursues his own interests."
Singh said India is a country where people of all faiths live, and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government is trying to undermine the secular character of the country by trying to impose its repressive thoughts on others.
"There are powers trying to divide people. If they succeed they would harm the nation in a big way," said Singh, hinting at the Dadri lynching and a section of society asking others not to eat beef.
Singh also asked the party workers to take the values, which Nehru stood for, to the people once again and save the country from divisive forces.
'Modi's development is about few businessmen'
Congress president Sonia Gandhi said the Modi government has a different meaning of the word "development" in the country, as for them it means "development of a few businessmen".
"The word (development) is being repeated. They have changed meaning of the term. For them, it means development of a few businessmen," Sonia said while addressing the birth anniversary function of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here.
"Achchhe din (good times) were when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister as everyone was then able to say his 'mann ki baat' (speaking one's heart out) as it was not limited to a radio programme," she said taking a dig at Modi's monthly radio address.
The Congress chief said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could tell the country what to eat and what not to eat but it could not tell people how to manage to eat daal (pulses), with their prices having gone beyond the common man's reach.
Stating that Nehru as the first prime minister of the country visualised and established various institutions to take the country forward, she said, "but they are being destroyed by the present regime".
Sonia Gandhi also termed the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) as the "remote control" of the Modi government. The term used to be applied to her when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister.
'India cannot be painted in one colour'
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi held the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) responsible for intolerance in India and said the country cannot be painted in "one colour".
"They (BJP and RSS) want everyone to sing in one tune. They want a picture to be painted in just one colour which is not possible because of the nature of our country," said Rahul.
"The BJP and the RSS think they know everything and don't like to be questioned but the truth is if they knew everything, 'achchhe din' (good times) would have come (by now)," he added.
The Congress vice president also criticised PM Modi, saying had there been tolerance in the country under the present regime, he would have not been asked to comment on the issue in London where he is on a three-day visit.
AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad and others
Speaking on the occasion, senior Congress leaders AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Anand Sharma also criticised the Modi government.
Former defence minister AK Antony and the Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Azad criticised the central government's alleged policy of intolerance, saying to take forward a country like India, where people of all faiths live, one must create trust among the masses.
Congress leader and party spokesperson Anand Sharma said "Modi, the BJP and the RSS were working against the values the nation was founded at".
"During the recent India-Africa summit, PM Modi did not mention the name of Jawaharlal Nehru even once," he said, adding it was African leaders who talked about him reminding Modi about Nehru's role in India's foreign policies.
Kharge, the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said Modi had to explain in London that there was no intolerance in the country.
"He had to explain about it. It means it's there," he said, adding that people have realised what his government and its allies were up to.
"In Delhi (elections) they put a comma and in Bihar a full stop," he said.
(with agency inputs)
