Nehru thought Indians were lazy, of low intelligence, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made repeated attacks on India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his speech in the Lok Sabha, claiming that the Congress leader thought Indians were lazy and of low intelligence.

Modi's nearly 100-minute speech was laced with sharp attacks on the Congress and the Gandhi family, and he said the party "never trusted India's potential".

"The Congress got stuck in one family. They could never see and would never be able to see people's aspirations and achievements. The Congress never trusted India's potential. They always considered themselves rulers and belittled people," Modi said while replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.

Quoting an Independence Day speech by Nehru from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi said, "Nehru had said 'we do not work as hard the Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians or the Americans. Do not think that these communities became prosperous by some magic. They have achieved this by hardwork and smartness'."

"He (Nehru) is giving a certificate to those people to belittle Indians. This shows that Nehru ji's thinking about Indians was that they are lazy and of low intelligence. He did not trust their potential," the prime minister said.

Former prime minister Indira Gandhi did not think differently either, Modi said.

"Indira ji had said from (the ramparts of) Red Fort, 'Unfortunately, it is our habit that when a good work is approaching completion, we become complacent. And when an obstacle comes, we lose hope. Sometimes it seems the whole nation has accepted defeat'. Looking at Congress people today, it appears that Indira ji may not have been able to assess the people of the country correctly, but she had done an exact evaluation of the Congress," he said.

This was the thinking of the "royal family" of the Congress about Indians, he said.

The same thinking is visible today also, Modi said, adding that he has immense faith in the ability of the country and its people.

Hitting back at Prime Minister Modi over his criticism of Nehru, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor later said, "Poor Nehru ji has gone since 60 years, and he continues the same lament about Nehru ji. We are flattered that he is so worried about us that he has devoted his entire speech towards the Congress."

Talking about price rise, Modi again lashed out at Nehru and Indira Gandhi, and said history is witness that when the Congress comes, it brings price rise with it.

He quoted Nehru as saying that "there are problems because prices of all things have gone up and the common people are caught up in it"

"After 10 years of this statement, Indira Gandhi said, 'You are facing problems due to price rise...," Modi said.

The prime minister said his government has reined-in inflation despite two wars and the Covid pandemic.

He again attacked Nehru when talking about Kashmir and said the Congress leader's thinking was the root cause of the problems that Kashmir and the country had to face.

The people of Kashmir and of the country had to suffer because of Nehru's mistakes, Modi said.