Modi govt using development to cover up its communal agenda : Sonaia Gandhi

“In a day and age where people are viciously attacked for holding different beliefs, it is important to remember this. Simply because someone holds a different view or disagrees then they cannot be branded a traitor. This is neither the way of our democracy nor a form of patriotism," she said while speaking at the culmination of the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebrations of Jawaharlal Nehru.

"It is a form of tyranny. Today, we are witnessing attempts by certain individuals and elements to whitewash their communal agenda in front of the world by hiding it behind the mask of development. Development is used as a buzzword, again and again,” she said.

Gandhi said the  the first prime minister believed in a frank exchange of ideas when any citizen could speak his ‘Mann ki Baat’, which has now been “reduced” to a radio broadcast.

“He (Nehru) did this with the objective of fostering a love for art and human values, to help carry out research and propagate a scientific temper, to preserve our culture and diverse ethos. But today these institutions are reduced to a joke. But who will protect the academies and institutions of today?” she said.