Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran has received flak for his comment that India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was a great leader who had displayed "magnanimity" by including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in his cabinet. His remark drew sharp criticism from the key Congress ally in Kerala, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and also the rival Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).
Sudhakaran made the remarks while addressing a Children's Day programme organised by the Kannur District Congress Committee (DCC), commemorating the birth anniversary of Nehru on Monday, November 14. This was only days after he irked the IUML by revealing that he had once given protection to the RSS shakhas decades ago.
"The generous gesture that he (Nehru) made to include RSS leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in his cabinet; his magnanimity to align with communal fascism; the leader who showed the nation the great values of democracy. We have to learn and understand a lot from Nehru. One has to read and learn about him to know his mind," the KPCC chief had said. Sudhakaran also said that Nehru gave the responsibility of making the Constitution to BR Ambedkar, who was not a Congress leader. Nehru had also made Ambedkar the Law Minister in his government.
Mukherjee was inducted as Minister of Industry and Supply by Nehru in the interim government he had formed after independence. Mukherjee quit the government in 1951 and founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the political wing of RSS. He was the founder-president of Jana Sangh, considered to be the earlier avatar of the BJP.
In the wake of sharp criticism from Congress ally IUML and the ruling CPI(M), Sudhakaran clarified that his reminisces about past political events were only intended to remind the Sangh Parivar, “who are trying to vilify Nehru, slander Gandhi, and implement a Congress-free Bharat” about democratic values. "However, a slip of the tongue that occurred in between took it to levels that I had not intended. I am deeply saddened by the pain it has caused to those who love Congress, the UDF [United Democratic Front] and me," he said in a subsequent statement, hours after making the controversial remarks. Sudhakaran further clarified that Nehru had repeatedly stated that one should never form electoral alliances with communal forces and also never make alliances with them no matter how many elections are lost.
The clarification came after senior IUML leader MK Muneer accused Sudhakaran of trying to "provoke many and please the fascists". The CPI(M) that leads the ruling front as well as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in separate statements, slammed the KPCC chief, alleging that he was trying to align the Congress with the Sangh Parivar. "If Sudhakaran has made such remarks, it is certain that he has not read history completely," Muneer told reporters in Kozhikode.
Muneer said that Nehru's first election victory was against fascist forces like the Hindu Maha Sabha. Muneer, who had also served as minister in the previous Congress-led UDF governments, said that a meeting of IUML leadership will be held on November 16 where the issues being raised by Sudhakaran may also be discussed. The IUML leader also claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is currently on the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has made it clear that those Congressmen with pro-RSS ideology should leave the party.
Accusing the KPCC chief of trying to "whitewash" the RSS on Nehru’s birthday, the Chief Minister sought to know why he was taking such efforts. Hailing Nehru as a true secular leader, the Marxist veteran said that Nehru, in a letter sent to chief ministers on December 7, 1947, had explained the nature of the danger posed by the RSS. In another letter, he had warned against falling for the claims that the RSS was not a political organisation. Pinarayi alleged that the Congress has always had communalists and RSS supporters with mindsets similar to Sudhakaran's. Pinarayi claimed that Nehru made Mukherjee a minister upon succumbing to pressure exerted by such people in the Congress. By comparing Mukherjee and Ambedkar, Sudhakaran not only distorted history but also insulted Dr Ambdekar, the CM said.
Sudhakaran had, on another recent occasion, courted controversy by saying that when he was part of the Congress (Organisation) decades ago, he had sent his men to ‘give protection’ to RSS shakhas in the state. While speaking at a function in Kannur, he had said that the CPI(M) had tried to destroy the shakhas when it had been launched in places like Edakkad, Thottada and Kizhunna and that he had sent people to ‘protect’ it from being destroyed by Left cadres.
Congress (Organisation) came into being after the 1969 split of the Congress party. It later merged with the Janata Party.
In a statement, the CPI(M) state secretariat urged the Congress's national leadership and the UDF to clarify their stand on Sudhakaran's remarks. "The other day, he openly said that he has given protection to RSS shakhas. Instead of correcting such pro-RSS positions, Sudhakaran is again trying to justify his position by portraying even Jawaharlal Nehru as a leader who allied with communal fascist forces", the CPI(M) alleged.
The IUML also expressed reservations regarding Sudhakaran's revelation that he had given "protection" to RSS shakhas decades ago. Muneer said that in view of the differing opinions within the Congress on various issues concerning the Left front, a high-level meeting of the UDF should be held to discuss such matters in order to arrive at a joint stand. Muneer said that his party expects the Congress to have an internal discussion on what Sudhakaran said and the reasons given by him for his actions. "Any action to be taken in relation to that (Sudhakaran's statement) is by the Congress," Muneer said. He also made it clear that there was no doubt that "there should be no move to legitimise the RSS by words or actions".
Sudhakaran had clarified that his actions back then were not motivated by any affiliation towards right wing outfits but guided by his belief that all parties, including the RSS, have the right to function in a democratic country.