The Karnataka government’s newspaper advertisement in which Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s photo was left off of the list of freedom warriors has sparked yet another controversy. The chief minister of Karnataka, BS Bommai, insulted his father, SR Bommai, and his father’s first political mentor, MN Roy, both of whom were ardent Nehru supporters, according to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh.
Jairam Ramesh remarked, “CM Karnataka is desperately trying to keep his job.”
The leader of the Congress, BM Sandeep, referred to Bommai as a “puppet CM” and claimed that Nehru was a major figure in India in the middle of the 20th century.
The commercial in question honours both Indian freedom heroes and those who were from Karnataka. It honours Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Chandrashekhar Azad, Savarkar, Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Vallabhbhai Patel Bhagat Singh, in addition to Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, and Vallabhbhai Patel Bhagat Singh.
This intensified the tense argument between the BJP and the Congress on Har Ghar Tiranga. The Congress questioned the RSS’s decision to wait till Friday to change its social media profile pictures to the national flag, and BJP leader Tejasvi Surya promised to set up history lessons for anyone who questions the RSS’s role.
The Congress claimed that the 75th anniversary of Independence had been reduced to “glorifying the sarvagyaani” and questioned why no special event had been arranged in Parliament to commemorate the occasion. In response, the BJP questioned why the Congress had not published a photo of its leaders raising the flag.