Kerala Congress president says Nehru compromised with communal fascists

Kerala state Congress president K Sudhakaran on Monday said former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru compromised with communal fascism to protect democracy.

At an event in Kannur, the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president cited the instance of Nehru making RSS leader and Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee a minister in his Cabinet.

He added that Nehru was willing to compromise with communal fascists to protect the values of democracy.

Sudhakaran also said that appointing B R Ambedkar as law minister was also a step by Nehru to uphold democracy. "Such instances show his magnanimity," he said.

The comments raised many eyebrows, especially since they came soon after his statement that Congress protected the RSS during the outfit's initial days in Kerala as the CPI(M) attacked them.

Sudhakaran had justified that in a democracy, all outfits that were not banned had the right to work. Therefore, Congress offered protection to the RSS.

The CPI(M) alleged that it was them who came under attack from the saffron outfit. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan had said Sudhakaran's comments indicate Congress's nexus with BJP-RSS.