In his speech welcoming the newly elected Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was the first time in the history of India that all constitutional posts were held by people belonging to “poor and ordinary families” and not by those from “elite backgrounds”.
In an obvious dig at the affluent background of previous Presidents and Prime Ministers, Mr. Modi said, “For the first time, we have a Vice-President who was born in independent India. Venkaiahji is a farmer’s son. It is the strength of our Constitution that today people who have come from villages, from poor backgrounds are holding constitutional posts and not the elite.”
Rebuttal from Azad
Mr. Modi’s comments drew a rebuttal from Leader of the Opposition and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad that it was true that Mr. Naidu had risen from the ranks, but there were many leaders in the past who sacrificed their wealth, career and family to fight for the country’s Independence.
“But I want to also salute people who were millionaires and landowners, people like Motilal Nehru who was a renowned advocate then. If we convert his legal fees in today’s denomination, it would come anywhere between ₹7-8 crore daily. Gandhiji came from a decent background, he was a good lawyer but he had to go to South Africa. He sacrificed his family. So we should not forget leaders who were rich and educated and who sacrificed their lives, wealth, children and family for the nation. How can we forget people like Nehru, Bose, Maulana Azad and Tilak,” Mr. Azad said.