'Pathetic, petty': Congress leaders slam BJP over 'conspiracy to erase Nehru from Indian history' ahead of Independence Day

New Delhi: Ahead of Independence Day, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru has become a topic of heated debate and discussion between the Congress and the BJP. While some took umbrage at a newspaper advertisement run by the Karnataka government, others lashed out at the ruling party for tangentially linking the former PM to India's partition.

The full page Karnataka government ad which sought to highlight the Har Ghar Tiranga initiative had not included Jawaharlal Nehru in a list of Indian freedom fighters, prompting a sharp rebuke from the Congress ranks.

"Nehru will survive such pettiness. CM Karnataka desperate to save his job knows what he has done is an insult to his father S.R. Bommai and his father's 1st political guru MN Roy both great Nehru admirers, the latter being a friend as well. Pathetic this is," said former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.

"BJP's conspiracy to erase Nehru from Indian history continues, but Nehru is Big, Nehru is Great, Nehru is immortal and Nehru was essentially a Nation Builder," added Indian Youth Congress chief BV Srinivas.

The party also slammed the BJP over a video released to mark Partition Horrors Remembrance Day that put together historical footage to highlight the run-up to the creation of Pakistan. Several senior Congress leaders have since criticised the clip and the commemorative day as a whole, accusing the PM of using "the most traumatic historical events as fodder for his current political battles".

"Those who had no knowledge of India's cultural heritage, civilization, values, pilgrimages, in just three weeks, they drew the border between people living together for centuries. Where were those people at that time who had the responsibility of fighting against these divisive forces?" the BJP wrote in the caption (roughly translated from Hindi).

"The Indian National Congress will uphold the legacy of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and many others who were untiring in their efforts to unite the nation. The politics of hate will be defeated," Ramesh insisted.

"I come from a family that lost over a dozen members during partition. The Sangh-League duet created an atmosphere which lead to the events that unfolded. PM can do well by apologising for the misdeeds of his ideological forefathers," retorted fellow party leader Pawan Khera.