Sonia Gandhi said the Centre should celebrate only Mahatma Gandhi’s anniversary, claims Congress.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has attacked the Union government for failing to appropriately mark the 29th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but his party disagrees.
Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said today that two years ago, it was party chief Sonia Gandhi, daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, who requested that the commemoration of birth and death anniversaries of political leaders should be handled not by the government but by political parties, trusts and societies. Mahatma Gandhi, she had written to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, should be the exception.
Mr Tharoor, who was sacked as Congress spokesperson earlier this month on charges of praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today tweeted, "Disgraceful that Govt is ignoring the martyrdom of our only Prime Minister who was killed in office in the line of duty. Oct 31 forgotten. (sic)"
Tomorrow is also the 138th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the government has pulled all stops to mark the occasion, which has been declared "Rashtriya Ekta Diwas" (National Unity Day).
Government offices in and around Delhi's Vijay Chowk shut early on Thursday to help complete the preparations for the "Run for Unity" - a nationwide event to mark the occasion - which the Prime Minister will flag off on Friday.
"Both Sardar Patel and Indira Gandhi, on their own, have contributed to the country which the country can never forget. No single leader, no single government can ever make people forget the legacy and contribution of any such great leaders," Mr Maken said today.
Mr Modi, in his election campaign, had accused the Congress of ignoring the legacy of Sardar Patel, who was from his home state Gujarat.
The Centre is providing nearly $500 million, or Rs 3000 crore, for the Statue of Unity, a 182-metre bronze statue of Sardar Patel, which will stand on a river island in Gujarat. The statue will be built by Larsen & Toubro, Turner Construction, which built the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, will act as a consultant.