Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has alleged a “systematic strategy” by the BJP-RSS to defame and denigrate the legacy of India's first prime minister.
NEW DELHI — Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has alleged a “systematic strategy” by the BJP-RSS to defame and denigrate the legacy of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, asserting that they will not succeed in their endeavour because “the idea of Nehru is part of the idea of India”.
Nehru was more than just a great prime minister; he was a sensitive and decent human being, and a good man, which is very difficult to find in politics, Ramesh said, addressing the concluding session of the Nehru Memorial Youth Festival 2026 on Saturday.
Ramesh also alleged that a malicious propaganda was being spread against Nehru with concerted efforts to erase his historical contributions, and urged people to counter it with logic and facts.
Referring to the 'Nehru Archive' (nehruarchive.in), he emphasised the necessity of studying historical documents and understanding them within the context of the circumstances and historical settings of that era.
Ramesh also urged young researchers and students to focus on critical aspects of historiography, the authenticity of historical sources, contextual understanding, and fact-based analysis.
He pointed out that Mahatma Gandhi had written to Nehru just 19 days before his death, saying, “Bahut varsh jiyo aur Hind ke Jawahar bane raho” (May you live for many years and remain the jewel of India).
“He (Nehru) remained Hind ke Jawahar for 50 years,” Ramesh said.
The Congress general secretary added that he can say with confidence that without Nehru, the Constituent Assembly would not have been set up and the Constitution would not have been possible.
This has been acknowledged by B R Ambedkar himself, Ramesh said.
Listing the contributions of Nehru, Ramesh said that laying the foundation for our economic policy, and non-alignment becoming the basis of our foreign policy, would not have been possible without him.
“All these contributions are being belittled, and attempts are being made to defame and denigrate Nehru's legacy over the last 12 years,” he alleged.
“We must counter this factually with knowledge, and not just through emotions,” Ramesh added.
Since Narendra Modi became the prime minister, it has been the BJP-RSS' “systematic strategy, both inside and outside Parliament, to defame and denigrate Nehru's legacy”, he said.
“But this cannot succeed; there is a famous book, ‘Idea of India’. The idea of Nehru is included in the idea of India. The idea of India and the idea of Nehru are inseparable,” Ramesh said.
Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Ramesh said there are more “distorians” in our country now than historians.
“The prime minister is the biggest distorian; the only way to counter them is knowledge,” he stressed.
Congress leaders on Saturday paid tributes to Nehru on his 137th birth anniversary, with Rahul Gandhi describing him as a "jewel" and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge calling him the "principal architect" of modern India.
Born in Allahabad on November 14, 1889, Nehru was India’s first prime minister after Independence. He died on May 27, 1964, at the age of 74 in New Delhi.