Sonia Gandhi Accuses Centre of ‘Vilifying Nehru’; BJP Responds With Surname Remark

Speaking at Jawahar Bhawan during the launch of the Nehru Centre India, Gandhi said Nehru’s contribution to India’s freedom struggle, democratic foundations, and early nation-building was being deliberately distorted.

She claimed there was a “systematic attempt to denigrate, distort, demean, and defame” Nehru, and argued that these efforts aim not only to diminish his personality but also dismantle the social, political, and economic principles on which India was built.

“The objective is not simply to erase Nehru,” she said, “but to destroy the foundations on which our nation has been founded and built.” Gandhi added that those behind these attempts come from an ideological position that played no role in India’s independence movement or the drafting of the Constitution, and had “fanned the atmosphere” that resulted in Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination.

She stressed that Nehru remains a guiding figure for millions of Indians and that his life and work must continue to be analysed in historical context. However, she noted a growing tendency to judge him without understanding the complexities of his time.

BJP Responds With Sharp Counter

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rejected Gandhi’s remarks, countering that it was the Congress—not the BJP—that had underestimated Nehru’s contributions. BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said there was no attempt to disrespect Nehru, adding that the BJP had only highlighted historical lapses, including the 1962 Sino-India conflict and alleged irregularities of that era.

Vadakkan suggested that if Sonia Gandhi and her family held Nehru in such high regard, they should consider adopting the “Nehru” surname instead of “Gandhi”.
“It’s time she stopped crying wolf,” he said. “If they respect Nehru so much, they should add the Nehru surname to the family line.”

He argued that acknowledging Nehru’s mistakes is not an attack but a matter of historical transparency. “Human beings make mistakes. When those realities come into public view, it has nothing to do with the government—it is history.”

The debate marks the latest exchange in the ongoing political discourse around Nehru’s legacy, its place in contemporary India, and the broader ideological contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress.