New Delhi, Nov. 14 : In a veiled attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said that the right wing group had ‘stayed away’ from the freedom struggle and alleged that they had opposed the ‘Quit India Movement’.
“Those who are trying to divide the nation are people who were hiding in their homes and stayed away from freedom struggle. Not only were these people hiding from freedom struggle in their homes, they were praising British rule,” Sonia said in her address at the birth anniversary celebration of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“These people never protested against the British. In fact when Gandhiji launched Quit India Movement, two organisations opposed it. One created Pakistan and the other ( RSS) has the remote control of the Government in hand today,” she added.
Lauding Nehru’s contribution in the freedom struggle, Sonia said that the former prime minister could have led a luxurious life, but chose to sacrifice it to fight for nation’s freedom.
“When Nehru ji was born, the country was in slavery. If Nehru ji wanted, he could have spent a life of comfort, but he didn’t. He sacrificed his life to fight for independence,” she said.
“He instead chose a life where there was prison and there were atrocities by the British to be faced,” she added.
She said that those opposing secularism are against the principles propagated by father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi.
Several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paid tributes to Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, on his 126th birth anniversary.
The day is also celebrated as Children’s Day in the country, considering Nehru’s love towards children, who used to call him Chacha Nehru (ANI)