New Delhi [India], September 21 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and National Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Monday launched a fierce attack on the Congress party, claiming that former Vice President Hamid Ansari’s recent reference to Jawaharlal Nehru’s views has "thoroughly exposed" the opposition party's ideological moorings.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Trivedi referred to remarks made by Ansari citing a 2019 book, in which India's first Prime Minister was quoted as saying that communism was not as significant a threat to him as Hindu nationalism.
"Former Vice President Hamid Ansari quoted a book which was written in 2019. As per the book, Nehru ji is saying that for him, Communism is not a threat as big as Hindu nationalism. For this, I would like to congratulate Hamid Ansari. He did three really important works," Trivedi told reporters.
Elaborating on his points, the BJP spokesperson alleged that the revelation lays bare the ideological character of the modern Congress and its alignment with fringe political narratives.
"First, he has thoroughly exposed that the Congress has become a 'Muslim League Maoist Congress' in totality. Second, he quoted that, as per Nehru ji, Communism was indeed a threat. While the Congress today has headed towards the ultra-Left," Trivedi argued.
Further targeting Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Trivedi alleged that the current leadership's political discourse traces its roots directly to Nehruvian ideology.
"Third, he has brought in a reference to Nehru. This makes it clear that the things reflected in the words of LoP Rahul Gandhi has their story hidden in their clan," the BJP leader said.
The remarks came after former Vice President Hamid Ansari's comments on communalism and extremism
Ansari cited former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s remarks on the “danger to India” while referring to the concerns raised by late constitutional expert and author AG Noorani in his book 'The RSS: A Menace to India.'
Ansari highlighted concerns over what he described as emerging trends that challenge the principle of civic nationalism, while speaking at an event remembering the life and works of jurist and author Noorani.
Addressing an event, Ansari recalled Noorani’s observations in the introduction of his 2019 book and quoted Nehru’s remarks recorded by former Foreign Secretary Jagat Singh Gundevia during a meeting of officers of the Ministry of External Affairs.
He said, “The RSS: A Menace to India" was the title of the book published in 2019. The opening lines of the introduction, where AG Noorani used a couplet, reflected what he described as the prevailing sentiment among Muslims in India today. In the same introduction, he referred to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s remarks at a Ministry of External Affairs officers’ meeting, documented by Foreign Secretary Gundevia. Nehru had warned that ‘the real danger to India was not communism, but Hindu right-wing communalism’.
Ansari attended the 3rd AG Noorani Memorial Lecture and made the remarks during a speech at an event titled “Remembering a Polymath: The Life and Times of Abdul Ghafoor Noorani” held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi on September 18.