Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid homage to all the people who lost their lives during the partition of India and Pakistan. The Congress alleged that the real intent of PM Modi to mark 14 August as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the traumatic events as fodder for his current political battles.
PM Modi tweeted, “Today, on #PartitionHorrorsRemembranceDay, I pay homage to all those who lost their lives during partition, and applaud the resilience as well as grit of all those who suffered during that tragic period of our history.”
Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said that the tragedy of partition, cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice.
He said the politics of hate will be defeated and the Congress will continue its efforts to unite India while upholding the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
“The real intent of PM to mark 14 August as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day is to use the most traumatic historical events as fodder for his current political battles. Lakhs upon lakhs were dislocated and lost their lives. Their sacrifices must not be forgotten or disrespected,” Ramesh said in a series of tweets.
The Congress leader asked, “Will the PM also recall today Shyama Prasad Mookherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh, who championed the Partition of Bengal against the wishes of Sarat Chandra Bose, and who sat in free India›s first Cabinet while the tragic consequences of Partition were becoming evident?”.
Alleging that the “modern-day Savarkars and Jinnahs” are continuing their efforts to divide the nation, Ramesh said the Indian National Congress will uphold the legacy of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many others who were untiring in their efforts to unite the nation.
“The politics of hate will be defeated,” he asserted.
“The tragedy of partition cannot be misused to fuel hate and prejudice. The truth is Savarkar originated the two-nation theory and Jinnah perfected it. Sardar Patel wrote, ‹I felt that if we did not accept partition, India would be split into many bits and would be completely ruined›,” he also said.
PM Modi had last year announced that 14 August will be observed as ‹Partition Horrors Remembrance Day› to remind the nation of the sufferings and sacrifices of Indians during the partition in 1947.
“Partition›s pains can never be forgotten. Millions of our sisters and brothers were displaced and many lost their lives due to mindless hate and violence. In memory of the struggles and sacrifices of our people, 14 August will be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day,” PM Modi had said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday inaugurated an exhibition on the theme ‹Horrors of Partition› at the Parliament Library Building. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy were among the leaders present.