India / Nehru, Vajpayee ideal leaders, parties should have dignity: Gadkari

New Delhi: Union minister and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari has hailed former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee as two “ideal leaders of Indian democracy”. The Road Transport and Highways minister said that ruling party and Opposition leaders should “introspect” and act with dignity for a healthy democracy. He made the comments while responding to a question asked by a news channel anchor on the Opposition’s protests during the monsoon session of Parliament which ended two days ahead of its schedule.

“Vajpayee aur Nehru, yeh Hindustan ke loktantra ke do adarsh neta the, aur dono kehte the ki main apne loktantrik maryada ka paalan karunga (Vajpayee and Nehru were the two ideal leaders of Indian democracy. Both the leaders used to say that they would act according to the democratic dignity),” Gadkari told Hindi news channel News Nation at an event.

He further said that Atalji’s legacy is a source of inspiration for all leaders and Nehru has also made a big contribution to Indian democracy. Gadkari was asked to respond on the nature of current leadership in Indian democracy and disruptions in Parliament.

Senior BJP leader said both ruling and opposition parties must introspect. He said the roles of parties keep changing as the one who is in Opposition today will be leading the government tomorrow, and those who are in power today will be in Opposition.

He said that a “strong Opposition” is necessary to keep a “check on the government” in a healthy democracy. “Therefore the Congress party should become a strong Opposition and do the work of a responsible Opposition," he added.

Gadkari also said that the recent disruptions in Parliament pained him and urged everyone to act with dignity.

The recently concluded Monsoon session of Parliament saw the Opposition protesting in both Houses over the three agricultural laws and rise in fuel prices. They were also demanding a discussion on the Pegasus spyware snooping allegations. However, the government refused to hold a discussion on the issue, which led to the stalemate and disruptions.