PV Narasimha Rao grandson demands apology from Rahul Gandhi
HYDERABAD : Just a day after All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary G Chinna Reddy blamed former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao for the party’s recent shortcomings in the country, Narasimha’s grandson on Friday launched a blistering attack on the Congress party alleging that the party sidelined Rao and disrespected him in his last moments. He also demanded party president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to issue a public apology for Reddy’s comments.
Rao’s grandson, NV Subhash, said that after Congress’ 1996 debacle, PV Narasimha Rao was sidelined due to many issues, which were not concerned with his government policies. He added that the Congress party thought that if anyone apart from Gandhi-Nehru family continued then they themselves will not be noticed and so Rao was sidelined.
NV Subhash, who is affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), went on to add that all failures of Congress have been attributed to PV Narasimha Rao and his contributions have not been credited to him. “I demand that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise, and come and pay their tributes to him,” said NV Subhash in his rant against the Congress.
Earlier on Thursday, Chinna Reddy stoked a controversy when he laid blame on Narasimha Rao for Congress’ declining popularity in the country. He said that Narasimha Rao allowed the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 which led the Muslims away from the Congress and it was one of the prime reasons why the Gandhi family subsequently sidelined him.
“After the Congress’s 1996 debacle, he (Mr Rao) was sidelined due to many issues, which were not concerned with his government policies. The Congress party thought that if anyone apart from Gandhi-Nehru family continues then they themselves will not be noticed and so he was sidelined,” Mr Subhash told ANI.
“All failures of the Congress party have been attributed to PV Narasimha Rao and his contributions have not been credited to him. Mr Subhash had joined the BJP in 2014 and is one of the official spokespersons of the party’s Telangana unit. Mr Subhash also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mentioning Narasimha Rao’s name in the Lok Sabha.
“While addressing in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised Narasimha Rao because of his contributions made in the country and due to the economic policy implemented in 1991. With that economic policy, following governments did not deviate from it and now we see fruits of that economic policy,” he said.
Narasimha Rao, the ninth prime minister of India, assumed office in June 1991 and stayed in power till May 1996. He is credited with bringing many economic reforms in the country particularly for dismantling the “License Raj” in the country. It was during his term that he appointed Manmohan Singh as finance minister, who ushered in a series of economic reforms to lift the country from a worsening economic crisis.(With Agency Inputs ).
