Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that former prime ministers Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were the ideal leaders of Indian democracy. He called upon the leaders of both the ruling party and the Opposition to introspect and act with dignity while performing their duties.
Gadkari made these remarks in the context of the disruptions caused by the opposition parties in the Parliament during the recently concluded Monsoon session.
The Parliament session was interrupted heavily by the protesting members of the opposition over issues like the three agricultural laws, rise in fuel prices and allegations relating to Pegasus spyware.
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He then talked about former Prime Ministers of India Nehru and Vajpayee and said that there were a lot of lessons to be learned from them. “Atalji’s legacy is our inspiration and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also had a big contribution to Indian democracy,” he said.
“Vajpayee aur Nehru, yeh Hindustan ke loktantra ke do adarsh neta the, aur dono kehte the ki main apne loktantrik maryada ka paalan karunga (Vajpayee and Nehru were the two ideal leaders of Indian democracy. And both used to say that they would act with democratic dignity),” Gadkari said.
Speaking about his time as the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Gadkari said that there was a time when he used to disrupt the Assembly over protest. Then he added, “Once during those days I met Atalji, and he told me this was no way to act in a democracy and that it was important to convey your message to the people.”
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Gadkari acknowledged the need for strong opposition for a thriving democracy. He also addressed Congress and asked the party to come up and take the reins of the primary opposition party.
