Nehru put India on path of self-reliance: Priyanka Gandhi

Cong. leaders pay tribute to first PM

On the 56th death anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra recalled him as the first proponent of a self-reliant India.

Listing the institutions created under his leadership, from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences to the Indian Institutes of Technology, in a series of tweets, Ms. Vadra said it was only owing to the institutions he established that we had reached space today, had a place in the world of education, had world-class doctors and engineers and were known the world over for our expertise in technology.

“All this was made possible because of Nehruji’s idea of making India truly self-reliant,” she said.

Her comments come in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent address to the nation where he stressed on the mantra of self reliance, stressing on using products manufactured in India and reducing imports.

Also read: How India can become self-reliant

“Pandit Nehru played a vital role in shaping our democracy. He preached and practised self-reliance long before others realised it,” senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Ahmed Patel said in a tweet.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that his legacy had stood the test of the time. “A visionary, he is immortalised in the world-class institutions he inspired, that have stood the test of time,” he said.

Former Union Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh, taunting the BJP for trying to defame and distort Nehru’s legacy, said in a tweet: “Jawaharlal Nehru died this day 56 years ago. The self-styled 56-inch man & his drum-beaters have been systematically distorting, defaming & destroying Nehru & his legacy, something that Mr. Vajpayee never did. We can rescue the idea of India only by reaffirming the ideas of Nehru.”

Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor shared a video footage from Nehru’s funeral. “A giant of Indian nationalism departed, leaving the nation bereft. But his legacy has marked us for all time,” he said.