Chief Minister Siddaramaiah pays tribute to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary in Bengaluru on Friday. | Photo credit: special arrangement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have made it their mission to criticize India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi and make baseless allegations against them, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking after garlanding Nehru’s statue at Vidhana Soudha on the occasion of Nehru’s birth anniversary here on Friday, the chief minister said, “BJP played no role in the freedom struggle. BJP’s only aim is to criticize Nehru and Gandhi who fought for independence. They have made it their occupation to criticize both of them and raise objections.”
Earlier, speaking at Children’s Day celebrations and a national parent-teacher convention organized by the Ministry of Education and Literacy, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that those who sided with the British during the freedom struggle are those who criticize Nehru and Gandhiji. “Parents and children should understand Nehru’s contribution to the freedom struggle and to science, irrigation, technology and agriculture among others.”
The Chief Minister said that the future of the country will be decided by the children who will develop rationality and scientific nature. “Children should stay away from superstition and blind faith from their primary school education. Discrimination on the basis of caste should be avoided. Everyone should practice tolerance and coexistence to ensure unity in diversity which is enshrined in the constitution,” he added.
He said the first Prime Minister believed that children formed the foundation of modern India and he gave impetus to education that inculcated a scientific nature in children. “Our government has allocated ₹65,000 crore for the education sector. All the children who have been awarded today belong to poor families. Education does not belong to anyone. Even I became the chief minister after studying in a government school.”
Published – 14 Nov 2025 22:46 IST
