- By Nidhi Giri
- Tue, 09 Jul 2024 01:42 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Austria visit, the Congress party on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on him, alleging that the prime minister ‘loves to hate and defame’ and that he suffers from ‘Nehruphobia’. In this light, Congress general secretary, in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh recalled the critical contribution of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the emergence of a sovereign and neutral Austria in the early fifties.
Jairam Ramesh said the Republic of Austria was established fully only on October 26 1955, which is celebrated as its National Day. One person who was critical to this becoming a reality was none other than the man Mr Modi loves to hate and defame.
“Dr Hans Kochler, a noted Austrian academic, has written about the key role Jawaharlal Nehru played in the early fifties in the emergence of a sovereign and neutral Austria after a decade of occupation by the victorious World War II powers,” Jairam Ramesh said.
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“One of Nehru’s most ardent global admirers was the legendary Bruno Kreisky, who was Chancellor of Austria during 1970-83,” he added.
“In 1989, Dr Kreisky recalled Nehru thus: ‘When the history of this century is written, and that of the men who have put their stamp on it one of the greatest and finest chapters will be the story of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It will be a part of India’s most modern history…Very early Nehru had become one of my instructors,” Ramesh further remarked.
Jairam Ramesh also put forth Kochler’s retrospective for those interested in diplomatic history.
“Those suffering from Nehruphobia – like our non-biological PM and, especially since 2019, our erudite and dapper External Affairs Minister – will also do well to recall it,” Ramesh said in his post on X, formally Twitter.
PM Modi will leave for Austria today, on the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to that country in over 40 years. During his Austria visit, Modi will meet the Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellenengage, engage in high-level business discussions, and interact with the Indian community in Vienna. Austria is seen as offering excellent opportunities for bilateral cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy, high technology, startups, and media.