Nehru's nation building idea was based on discarding old values: Amit Shah

Pune: BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said the first Prime Minister's idea of nation building was based on "discarding" old traditions and replacing them with "imported ideas" unlike Jana Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya who tried to safeguard the "Indian values".

"Jawaharlal Nehru's idea of nation building was based on discarding the old values and traditions and importing foreign ideas, however, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was believer of preserving the same old traditions and values, which paved the way for foundation of Bhartiya Jan Sangh and later BJP," Mr Shah said.

The BJP president was speaking at a function to release Mr Upadhyaya's biography 'Rashtradrashta' in Pune.

"During the independence struggle, several people belonging to various ideologies fought for the freedom, however, after the independence the entire credit went into Congress' account.”

"Congress made Nehru as Prime Minister of the country, who was believer of bringing foreign ideas and discarded the age-old values and traditions while building the nation," Shah said.

He said Upadhyaya and other members worked tirelessly to draft the roadmap of the nation on the basis of the same Indian values and traditions that Jawaharlal Nehru was trying to discard and founded Bhartiya Jan Sangh, the forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"Later the Jan Sangh transformed into BJP, which has now become the largest party of the country and has been following the same path shown by Upadhyaya," the BJP chief said.

He said the country is in the "safe hands" now and is becoming the global leader without forgetting the values and traditions "and the foundation of this transformation was the ideology of Upadhyaya".