Congress says its entire top leadership was jailed during Quit India movement but RSS opposed it

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday paid tributes to people who participated in the Quit India movement and remembered the contribution of freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the country's freedom.

On the 83rd anniversary of the Quit India movement, the Congress also alleged that while the Congress leadership at the time languished in jails, the RSS opposed the movement.

"In 1942, the Quit India Movement was started against the British rule with the invaluable mantra of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, 'Do or Die', which gave new enthusiasm to the freedom struggle," said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

In a post on X , he said, under the leadership of the Indian National Congress, countless Indians took to the streets in the Quit India movement and wrote the saga of this unforgettable history.

"On 'August Kranti Diwas', we pay our heartfelt tributes to all the freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country," Kharge said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, late at night on August 8, 1942, the All India Congress Committee passed the historic Quit India resolution.

"Thereafter Mahatma Gandhi gave his iconic 'Do or Die' speech heralding the launch of the Quit India movement.

"In the very early hours of Aug 9th, 1942, the top leadership of the Congress were jailed. Gandhiji himself was kept at the Aga Khan palace in Pune till May 6, 1944. Nehru, Patel, Azad, Pant, and others were taken to Ahmednagar Fort prison where they remained till March 28, 1945," Ramesh said.

He said for Nehru it was the ninth imprisonment and between 1921 and 1945, he spent a total of nine years in jail. It was in Ahmednagar jail that he wrote his immortal The Discovery of India, he noted.

"While the entire Congress leadership languished in jail and while the entire nation was stirred, the RSS brotherhood actively opposed the Quit India movement. Seven years later it was to oppose the Constitution of India as well," Ramesh alleged.