'LK Advani applauded Jinnah...': Jairam Ramesh hits back at PM Modi for criticising Nehru over Vande Mataram

New Delhi [India], December 8 (ANI): Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks against former PM Jawaharlal Nehru during the Parliamentary debate over the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, calling him the "master of distortion".
In an X post, Jairam Ramesh targeted the BJP by Invoking Bharatiya Jan Sangh's founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee's coalition with AK Fazlul Haq in Bengal before Independence, and former Deputy PM LK Advani's visit to Pakistan's first Governor General Mohammad Ali Jinnah's mausoleum in Karachi.
"Nehru is being accused of appeasement. But will the PM--the Master Distorian-- answer: Which Indian leader formed a coalition in Bengal in the early 1940s with the person who moved the Pakistan resolution in Lahore in March 1940? It was Syama Prasad Mookerjee. Which Indian leader applauded Jinnah in Karachi in June 2005? It was LK Advani. Which Indian leader praised Jinnah in his book in 2009? It was Jaswant Singh," the Congress MP wrote.
According to a BJP press release, Syama Prasad Mookerjee joined the Progressive Coalition Ministry headed by Fazlul Haq as Finance Minister and resigned within less than a year.
LK Advani had visited Karachi in 2005 and inscribed a message in the Visitors' Book at the Jinnah Mausoleum, "There are many people who leave an inerasable stamp on history. But there are very few who actually create history. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was one such rare individual. In his early years, Sarojini Naidu, a leading luminary of India's freedom struggle, described Mr Jinnah as an Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity. His address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, is a classic, a forceful espousal of a Secular State in which every citizen would be free to practise his own religion, but the State shall make no distinction between one citizen and another on the grounds of faith."
Ramesh's remarks come after PM Modi, earlier today, criticised Rahul Gandhi for his absence during discussions in Parliament, asserting that the Congress compromised on the national song and "surrendered before the Muslim League".
Addressing the Lok Sabha on the sixth day of the Winter Session, PM Modi said, "Serious discussion is going on in Parliament, but LoP Rahul Gandhi is not present in the House. First Nehru, now Rahul Gandhi, has shown disregard for Vande Mataram."
The Prime Minister accused the Congress of insulting the national song and surrendering before the Muslim League, stating, "Congress still insults Vande Mataram. "Congress compromised on Vande Mataram and surrendered before the Muslim League. Nehru did a 'tukde-tukde' of Vande Mataram."
A total of 10 hours has been earmarked for the entire discussion in Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha, where the debate will take place on Tuesday, December 9.
The 6th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 269th Session of the Rajya Sabha commenced on Monday, December 1, marking the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament. The session will conclude on December 19. (ANI)