Chief Minister Siddaramaiah paying 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 occupation to criticise the first Prime of India Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi, and make unfounded allegations against them, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said.
Speaking after garlanding the statue of Nehru on the Vidhana Soudha premises here on Friday on the occasion of Nehru’s birth anniversary, the Chief Minister said: “The BJP had no role in the freedom struggle. The only aim of the BJP is to criticise Nehru and Gandhiji, who struggled for independence. They have made it their occupation to criticise the two and make unfounded allegations against them.”
Earlier, speaking at the Children’s Day celebrations and State-level Parents-Teachers convention, organised by the Department of Education and Literacy, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that those who sided with the British during the freedom struggle are the ones who are criticising Nehru and Gandhiji. “Parents and children should understand the contribution of Nehru to freedom struggle and to science, irrigation, technology and agriculture sector, among others.”
The Chief Minister said that the country’s future will be decided by the children who develop rationality and scientific temper. “Children should stay away from superstition and blind belief from their primary school education. Caste-based discrimination should be shunned. Everyone should practice tolerance and co-existence to ensure unity in diversity that is enshrined in the Constitution,” he added.
He said that the first Prime Minister believed that children formed the basis of modern India, and that he gave impetus to education that inculcated scientific temper among children. “Our government has allocated ₹65,000 crore to the education sector. All children who were felicitated today belong to poor families. Education does not belong to any one. Even I became Chief Minister after having studied in a government school.”
Published – November 14, 2025 10:46 pm IST
