Did BJP Draw a Comparison Between Rahul and Jinnah Over NCERT's Partition Module?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- BJP accuses Congress of facilitating Partition.
- Gaurav Bhatia compares Rahul Gandhi to Jinnah.
- NCERT module attributes blame to three key figures.
- Importance of educating the younger generation about history.
- Calls for accountability from the Congress party.
New Delhi, Aug 16 (NationPress) In light of the escalating debate surrounding the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)'s recent module that attributes blame for the 1947 Partition to three key figures—Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, and the Congress party—the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified its critique of the Congress on Saturday. They accused the historic party of playing a significant role in the country's division based on religious lines.
During a press briefing, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia drew parallels between Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, asserting that the Congress party's actions led to the tragic events of Partition.
Bhatia stated that Jinnah and Rahul's ideologies bear striking similarities, suggesting that both figures have become emblematic of this divisive history.
He remarked, “The toxic politics of appeasement and the incitement of communal tensions, which Jinnah embodied, can clearly be observed in Rahul’s current political strategies.”
According to him, Jinnah's insistence on Sharia as a guiding principle for the Muslim community mirrors the Congress party's present stance.
Bhatia emphasized the importance of educating the younger generation about the reasons behind the Partition.
“When inquiries regarding the Partition arise, the Congress party must provide a justification for the division that transpired in 1947,” he stated.
Former Rajya Sabha member Rakesh Sinha supported the NCERT’s documentation of the Congress party's role in the religiously motivated division of the nation.
Sinha characterized Jinnah as a communal ideologue who instigated discord and identified Lord Mountbatten as the “evil force” sent to carry out this division.
However, he placed primary blame on the Congress party for yielding to communal pressures, despite being the predominant political force at the time.
“If the Congress had not embraced a policy of appeasement since 1909, the Partition could have been averted. Instead of combating communal forces, Congress welcomed them,” Sinha pointed out.
The controversial NCERT module, created for 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day', attributes the blame for the Partition of India to three individuals: Jinnah, who advocated for it, the Congress, which acquiesced to it, and Mountbatten, who executed it.
Two distinct modules have been developed—one for Classes 6 to 8 (middle stage) and another for Classes 9 to 12 (secondary stage).