Rijiju spreading false propaganda against Nehru: Gogoi

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday accused Union Minister Kiren Rijiju of trying to spread "false propaganda" that Jawaharlal Nehru had "let the people of Northeast region down during the 1962 Indo-China war".

"Jawaharlal Nehru didn't surrender the country at the time of Chinese aggression as made out to be by Rijiju. Nehru didn't let the people down and was with them during that critical juncture.

"Does Nehru, who was a patriot to the core and a staunch nationalist, require a certificate from Rijiju who is a turncoat with no contribution to the development of his own state?" Gogoi said in a statement here.

Rijiju must keep in mind that it was during the Congress rule that Arunachal Pradesh came into being and several developmental activities carried out, he said.

"It was during the Congress regime that Arunachal Pradesh was carved out and the state marched on the path of progress and prosperity.

"What did the previous NDA regime do for Arunachal? Even how many ministers of the present dispensation at the Centre have visited Arunachal and more importantly contributed towards its development?" he questioned.

Gogoi asked Rijiju to desist from spreading canards against Nehru and to concentrate on his immediate task to contain the divisive forces that threaten to tear the social fabric.

"Rijiju, who has his task cut out in the backdrop of growing intolerance, must focus on containing the divisive forces and not on rewriting history," he said.

Rijiju had recently said that Nehru had let the people of North-East down during the 1962 Indo-China war by abandoning the people to their fate.