Congress accuses BJP of tampering with history of freedom struggle

New Delhi: Congress in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday accused the BJP-led government of "tampering" with the legacy and history of the freedom movement by introducing "other leaders" who had no role in it.

The government countered the charges levelled by Congress leader Anand Sharma, saying it was not only the Nehru and Gandhi families who had fought for India's freedom, but there were scores of other leaders as well.

"We will show the history which you have hidden. We will also take forward what you have shown," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said countering Sharma's allegations.

He said the government will tell the world about the role of the forgotten freedom fighters and there was no intention to insult any of the great leaders of the country.

Earlier, Sharma had raised the issue of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) here, saying the sole objective behind setting up the NMML was to promote the study of modern Indian history and the life and history of India's first prime minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, who had spent 14 years in British prisons during freedom struggle.

"It would be a gross injustice to the legacy of freedom fighters of freedom movement to introduce unwanted elements in the discourse of the NMML.

"What is happening in the NMML is bringing in other leaders who were not part of the India's freedom movement. We know the present government's antipathy towards the values and principles for which Nehru and Gandhi stood for," he said.

Sharma also said the present government has every right to establish museum of its leaders, including Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, but "they cannot tamper with history and legacy of Indian freedom movement".

Earlier in the day, Naresh Agarwal said the social media and the media were presenting wrong facts about the salaries and perks of Members of Parliament and tarnishing their image.

Kurien, in a lighter vein, suggested to the SP leader to enter the social media to reply back.

Naqvi said there was no control over anti-social activities on social media.

D Raja (CPI) said the fate of ordinance factories and thousands of their employees were at stake following the government's decision to allow 100 per cent private participation in defence manufacturing.

JD(U) member Harivansh expressed concern over breach of security cordon of President Pranab Mukherjee during his recent visit to Jharkhand. He said two bikers had managed to sneak into the cavalcade of the President.

Nadimul Haque (TMC) expressed concern over the falling interest rate on PPF as well as post office savings schemes. He said it was creating problems for senior citizens.

Neeraj Shekhar (SP) complained that members sitting in the back benches in the House were not getting enough chance to raise Zero Hour mentions or ask supplementary questions.

To this, Kurien suggested that the House may adopt a ballot system to select members for raising issues. He, however, said that Zero Hour issues were selected based on the importance of the subject.

Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury highlighted the plight of chilli-growing farmers in Telengana saying they were not getting right prices for their produce after a bumper crop.

Another Congress MP Rajani Patil demanded farm loan waiver of Rs 30,000 crore for Maharashtra farmers in line with the Uttar Pradesh government's decision.

JD(U)'s Ramnath Thakur wanted to know the status of the Rs 1.25 lakh crore special package for Bihar announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election campaign.

Sanjeev Kumar (JMM) sought to know whether it was proper on part of the Prime Minister to distribute items like smartphones in Jharkhand when an assembly by-poll was on.