Fight to safeguard democracy: Sonia

Hitting out at the Modi government, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the nation must fight with determination to safeguard democracy from those undermining it.

Sonia accused the Modi government of “changing for the worse” the legacy of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who instilled democratic culture in independent India.

“Nehru's precious legacy is undermined daily by those who rule us today. They express disdain and contempt for Nehru for all that he did to build the India that they are bent upon changing for the worse,” the former Congress President said at the relaunch of Shashi Tharoor's book 'Nehru: Invention of India'.

“Today, we must honour him (Nehru) by fighting with determination to safeguard our democracy from those who are undermining it,” Sonia said.

Congress has been accusing the Modi government of trying to undermine Nehru's legacy.

Nehru's role

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech in Parliament in February, had refused to endorse the widely held view of Nehru's role in establishing democracy in post-1947 India.

According to Modi, Nehru cannot be credited with nurturing democracy in the country since India was known for its democratic credentials since the time of Lord Buddha.