'Nehru Said Indians are Lazy': Modi Mentions Former PM’s Speech In Reply To President's Address

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday referred to Jawaharlal Nehru’s Independence Day speech of 1959 and said the former PM felt Indians were ‘lazy’.  Replying to the Motion of Thanks in the President’s address, the Prime Minister said Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi was no different from him.

“Indira Gandhi felt that whenever the country was progressing, people were involved in self-interest. They (Nehru and Indira Gandhi) were wrong about Indians, but were right about the Congress party,” said PM Modi.

He also came down heavy on Congress and called it responsible for the ‘condition of the Opposition’ today.

In a veiled dig at Rahul Gandhi, PM Modi said, “Ek hi product baar-baar launch karne ke chakkar mein, Congress ki dukaan tala lagne ki naubat aa gayi hai (In an effort to launch the same product time and again, the Congress’s shop is on the verge of closure.”

Nehru’s ‘Lazy’ Remark PM Modi Referred To

In his Independence Day speech of 1959, Prime Minister Nehru said Indians were ‘not very hard-working’ people and urged them to work hard for the country’s progress.

“In India, there has not been a habit of working hard. It’s not our fault, sometimes such habits get formed. But the fact is we don’t work as hard as Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians or Americans. Don’t think that those countries developed due to some magic, they became so because of hard work and intelligence,” the former PM had said from Red Fort.

Speaking At News18 Chaupal event, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the PM can’t sleep without abusing Congress.

“Why are they afraid of Congress party? They can’t sleep without abusing Congress. They are abusing Nehru ji and Indira Ji,” he said.