The Congress has accused the BJP-led Government of trying to sabotage its international conference on Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy. The charge came shortly after the conference concluded at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon.
Congress leader Anand Sharma, who was the convenor of the organising committee, said: “We have encountered problems at every step. It is unfortunate.”
Sharma hinted at the Congress being forced to postpone the conference after being cold-shouldered by the current government. “This government did not want the conference to take place. We were denied Vigyan Bhawan on November 14 (Nehru’s 125 th birth anniversary) when it was not in use,” he said.
The government had organised a commemoration of the occasion at Teen Murti Bhawan on November 14 that was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma. Singh also released two coins.
“The government sent a circular to all Indian missions that if any world leaders ask about this conference, tell them to contact the Congress party directly. The idea was to dissuade them from coming,” Sharma alleged.
Problems for Karzai cavalcade
He, however, claimed success and said eventually delegates from 27 countries and 34 organisations were represented at the event. Another Congress leader said former Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s cavalcade also faced problems getting past the security. He said the party would take up the matter formally with the government.
The Congress had begun preparing for the international conference last year, when it was in power. Sources in the party said that the invitations for the conference were sent out in August. Reiterating sharp differences with the BJP, Sharma said the party did the correct thing by not inviting the BJP or its leaders including the Prime Minister. “The Congress does not want any BJP or RSS invitations. It would be an insult for us,” he said.
He dubbed the government’s attitude towards the government as “unsupportive and unduly critical.”
