Congress MP Jairam Ramesh has opined that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should instead be called the BJN (Blame Just Nehru). Following his logic, the Congress should also change its name to NFS (Nehru For Sale).
Ramesh himself argued that Nehru became incompetent after 1958 and destroyed India by a single act of appointing VK Krishna Menon as the Defense Minister, who in turn committed another single act of appointing BM Kaul as the Commander of IV Corps. For Ramesh, who is too eager to sell out Nehru to turn around and accuse the BJP of “blaming just Nehru”, is like the pot calling the kettle black.
As I speculated in an earlier article, the Congress signed a deal with the devil (LK Advani) when the BJP was respectful of Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. In exchange, the Congress allowed the BJP to use Nehru as a punching bag. This arrangement served both the parties till 2014.
The new breed of the BJP, however, discarded the old arrangement, while the chickens have come home to the Congress to roost. The new BJP, under the leadership of Modi-Shah, is not shy of attacking Sonia Gandhi and undermining Indira Gandhi, something that the Congress is now unable digest.
Distortion Of History Is A Double-Edged Sword
Instead of defending Nehru against the malicious attacks of the BJP and other fake-historians, the Congress found it safe to join the lynch-mob instead. Congress leaders including Ramesh and Pranab Mukherjee spread false narratives of Nehru either as spineless or to have become old and useless.
The Congress’ strategy has been to portray Indira Gandhi as aggressive and competent, which only becomes credible if Nehru is deemed incompetent. This strategy indeed benefited the Congress in the short run, since many Indians had fond memories Indira’s reign and sympathy for her violent death.
Some fake-historians claim to despise the BJP and pretend to help the Congress by encouraging to dump the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, thus purging themselves of Nehru’s sins. They indulge in the relentless campaigning of misinformation by patronising Nehru.
Others bully the Congress to work hard, hold internal elections and build its cadre. But as long as Indians are led to believe that Nehru had destroyed India, while the BJP offers hope for redemption, as false it might be, the Congress party will keep sinking. Dumping the Nehru-Gandhi narrative is the only way to hasten the process.
The Congress’ Betrayal Of VK Krishna Menon
Of all the incompetent and corrupt ministers who ran the Congress governments during 55 years of their rule, Congress leaders like Natwar Singh, Ramesh and MS Aiyar want us to believe that VK Krishna Menon was the only bad apple. They do this knowing well that it will reflect on Nehru himself.
Contrary to the misinformation spread by the Congress party, VK Krishna Menon is the greatest defense minister India ever had. His only mistake was to be born a South Indian. Neither was Menon responsible for the conflict in 1962 nor was BM Kaul the cause of the so-called defeat. The outcome would not be different regardless of who the corps commander was instead of Kaul or how much more equipment the Indian Army had possessed.
Kaul had to take charge because Lt. Gen. Umrao Singh (33 Corps) was frightened by the enemy. He rebelled and refused to fight at a time when China had intruded India’ territory. The alternative to sending Kaul was to let China take whatever territory it wanted. So, blaming Nehru, Menon or Kaul is not just ignorance but betrayal, immoral and poor taste.
Congress Lost Its Way
While declaring Nehru an incompetent old man who could not silence the combative Parliament to make peace with China, Ramesh cried foul when the Modi government bulldozed the farm laws from the Parliament. Based on Ramesh’s own arguments against Nehru, Modiji should be hailed as a great leader who is undeterred by counter opinion. While the likes of Ramesh claim bravado in criticising Nehru, it is in fact a cheap shot.
These days, it doesn’t require courage to sling filth at Nehru. It never required courage to criticise Krishna Menon either. Those who claim to be brave and objective should criticise Sardar Patel or Subhas Chandra Bose and face the wrath of the BJP trolls. The Congress party of today is not only ideologically bankrupt, but intellectually incapable of comprehending their own leaders like Nehru. Bullied by the BJP, fake-historians and fake-sympathisers, the Congress has been drifting whichever way the wind blows.
The misinformation spread against Nehru and Menon by Congress leaders like Ramesh, Singh, Mukherjee and Aiyar has been undermining the Congress party itself. So, why does the Congress, which is run by Nehru’s namesake family, allow and even reward such self-destruction? If they knew any better, the party would not be in the pitiful state it is in today.