Attacking PM Narendra Modi’s family own goal by Congress, says Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Arun Jaitley has described Congress remarks asking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s father and his mother’s age as a “self-goal” and emphasised that dynastic democracy promoted by the main opposition post-Independence is the reason behind such statements as the name of the kin of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel are not popularly known.

In an article, Jaitley said, “Decades of Congress rule, naming colonies, localities, cities, bridges, airports, railway stations, schools, colleges, universities, stadiums after one family was intended to declare the ‘Gandhis’ as India’s royalty. They were ‘officially glamourised’ as the blue blooded family of India. The others did not matter.”

He enumerated the various achievements of Sardar Patel, the first home minister who integrated 550 princely states and was a successful barrister but the name of his father or his wife are not common knowledge. The achievements of Congress leaders who do not belong to the Nehru-Gandhi family have been underplayed while the former have been glamourised. “Members of one family are projected as larger than life. Their aberrations become national aberrations. The party adopts them as its ideology...,” Jaitley said.