- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Indian National Congress, one of the major opposition parties in India, said the country does not need to take lessons from any other nation as many of its leaders in the past, including the likes of the president and chief minister, came from minority communities.
The remark was seen as a rebuff to senior parliamentarians of the party such as P Chidambaram and Shashi Tharoor who hoped India would follow new British prime minister Rishi Sunak’s example of electing a person from the minorities to the top post.
Celebrating the rise of Sunak, an Indian-origin politician who became the 57th prime minister of Britain on Tuesday (25), Chidambaram said on Twitter on Monday (24), “First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak. The people of the US and the UK have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government,” Chidambaram said on Twitter.
First Kamala Harris, now Rishi Sunak
The people of the U.S. and the U.K have embraced the non-majority citizens of their countries and elected them to high office in government
I think there is a lesson to learned by India and the parties that practise majoritarianism
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) October 24, 2022
Tharoor, who recently lost in the Congress’s presidential election to Mallikarjun Kharge, said, “If this does happen, I think all of us will have to acknowledge that the Brits have done something very rare in the world, to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office. As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let’s honestly ask: can it happen here.”
If this does happen, I think all of us will have to acknowledge that theBrits have done something very rare in the world,to place a member of a visible minority in the most powerful office. As we Indians celebrate the ascent of @RishiSunak, let's honestly ask: can it happen here? https://t.co/UrDg1Nngfv
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 24, 2022
The grand-old party was quick to distance itself from the two former central ministers.
All India Congress Committee general secretary Jairam Ramesh said respecting diversity has been India’s hallmark for many years and cited the examples of Zakir Hussain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and APJ Abdul Kalam — all of whom went on to become the president of India, which is the top constitutional position in the country.
“In our country, Dr Zakir Hussain first became the President in 1967, then Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed became the President and Dr Abdul Kalam and if I keep giving you examples, Barkatullah Khan became chief minister and A R Antulay also became the chief minister,” he told reporters.
Asked about the senior Congress leaders’ remarks, Ramesh said, “You should ask them. I am only talking about ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ (Unite India March) and I would not speak about what other leaders have said. You should ask them on what they have said, I will not speak on any other leader’s remarks.”
“The Congress is a democratic party,” Ramesh, a parliamentarian and a former minister as well, said, adding the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ is blowing the trumpet of democracy while the Bharatiya Janata Party is blowing guns of autocracy.
“Those who get a mandate will become prime minister. Democratically, if someone is elected, we don’t have a problem. England’s party has made him the prime minister, we welcome it,” said Ramesh.
He said India has set an example across the world on celebrating diversity and respecting them.
“But, in the last eight years what we have seen, I don’t think we need to draw lessons from somewhere else. Our society is unity in diversity and we have seen for many years that we respect diversity and give them equal rights and we don’t need to seek lessons from any other country. Our society will be strengthened through diversity,” he noted.
“Our strength is unity in diversity. I will go a step further, as we will remain united through diversity. Bharat Jodo Yatra’s purpose is this only, to unite diversity of different languages, castes and religions.”
Ramesh said in the southern state of Karnataka, they met some people a few days ago who speak a language which does not have a script.
“We need to strengthen them as they are also Indian citizens.”
Asked specifically on his mention of the last years of Modi rule, he said, that is because there is a huge difference between the thoughts of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi. Vajpayee, he said, was a product of the Nehru era and he was very impressed by Jawaharlal Nehru and that is the truth.
“But, Narendra Modi is busy only in one thing – of how to erase the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru and how to finish Teen Murti. Now there will be Teen Murti in 10, Downing Street also,” Ramesh said.
