BJP, Cong cross swords over horrors of Partition, genesis of 1947 tragedy

Minister Says Nehru-Led Party To Blame; Day Being Marked With Partisan Intent: Jairam

BJP and Congress tussled over the saffron party's initiative to recall the trauma that accompanied Partition in 1947, with the latter taking exception to a video released by the party in office that held Nehru-led Congress responsible for not stopping Pakistan's creation 75 years ago.

Union HRD minister Dharmendra Pradhan retaliated against Congress's attack on the effort to remember Partition by saying those who did not care about the lives and honour of millions when they agreed to divide the country have trouble paying tributes to those who lost everything during the tragedy.

"The brunt of Partition, which ruined the lives of crores of people, was forgotten for decades... Partition Horror Remembrance Day is an attempt to remind the country of that era and not to break it again, but Congress did not like 'Akhand Bharat' then and is not liking it now," Pradhan tweeted. He also said Congress's criticism of the move signalled a slave mental that led the party to put the interests of "one family" above the country and people.

Congress's attack came from communications chief Jairam Ramesh, who said that "Partition Horror Remeberance Day" had been conceptualized with partisan intent and was aimed at using the most traumatic events in history as "fodder" for the PM's "current political battles".

"The truth is Savarkar originated two-nation theory and Jinnah perfected it. Sardar Patel wrote, 'I felt that if we did not accept Partition, India would be split into many bits and would be completely ruined'," Ramesh said.