Nehru was first to declare himself 'pradhan sevak', says Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said it was Jawaharlal Nehru who first declared himself a ‘pradhan sevak’ (prime servant) of the country and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP claimed.

Speaking after inaugurating the 125 birth anniversary celebrations of Nehru at the KPCC office, he said Nehru declared himself the pradhan sevak soon after becoming the prime minister in 1947, and he walked the talk.

Without mentioning Modi’s name, he said some people claimed that the present prime minister was the first to call himself pradhan sevak.

But the fact is, it is nothing new. Nehru was the first one to say this, he said.

“Communal forces are trying to gain the upper hand. They incite communal hatred for political gains. They are conspiring to undermine secularism and majority opinion. We have to stop these forces by following in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru,” he said.

Nehru has contributed immensely to the development of the nation. Five Year plans and mega irrigation and industry projects were implemented by him. He is equal to Mahatma Gandhi in his stature, he added.

KPCC president G Parameshwara said the State party would chalk out year-long programmes as part of Nehru’s birth anniversary celebrations from block to State levels.

The BJP government at the Centre is trying to take credit for programmes implemented by the Congress governments. Congress workers should counter this and educate people about the facts, he said.

The Modi government has been trying to “saffronise” school textbooks. It wants to twist history as directed by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

The move has to be opposed vehemently.

Besides, there are a number of tainted persons in Modi’s council of ministers. Many ministers are facing criminal cases and some come directly from the corporate sector.

People cannot expect such a government to work for social justice and the poor, he said.