Observing the 43rd anniversary of imposition of Emergency, the BJP today accused the Gandhi-Nehru family of having a "dictatorial attitude" with its members right from Jawaharlal Nehru to Rahul Gandhi having the feeling of exclusive entitlement to run the country.
"Jawaharlal Nehru, who became the first Prime Minister of the country, Nehruji to Indiraji, Indiraji to Rajivji, Rajivji to Soniaji, Soniaji to Rahulji, all the members of this family feel that India belongs to them and that only they are entitled to run the government in India," he said.
Recalling the events during the Emergency and criticising the then Congress regime led by Indira Gandhi, Patra said that the Congress gave the slogan of 'India is Indira and Indira is India' during Emergency, similar to 'Hail Hitler' by the Nazis for German dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nehru dealt with the Kashmir issue "with a sense of entitlement," he claimed.
"If there are problems in Kashmir today, it is because of Jawaharlal Nehruji. I would call it a sense of dictatorial attitude of the then Prime Minister that he did not heed to the advises of the then Home Minister respected (Sardar Vallabhbhai) Patelji," Patra charged.
Indira Gandhi was the one who thought she was synonymous with India and it resulted in Emergency, he claimed.
Rajiv Gandhi too had a dictatorial attitude which made him say, on the killing of Sikhs following Indira Gandhi's assassination, that "the earth shakes when a big tree falls," Patra alleged.
Sonia Gandhi was "almost the ruler of this country" for 10 long years "without any accountability," he said referring to the UPA's rule.
Rahul Gandhi, Patra said, "bereft of any quality to become a mass leader, bereft of any quality to serve the people, shows an uncanny sense of entitlement that I am the one who has to become the Prime Minister."
The Congress president had announced at the time of Karnataka elections that he can become Prime Minister and the Congress' media head Randeep Surjewala has recently said Gandhi would be the Prime Ministerial candidate if any alliance comes up in the 2019 polls, he claimed.
"This sense of entitlement also comes out from a dictatorial mooring. The Gandhi family right from the beginning till today has this dictatorial mooring," he said.
Democracy was all about accountability and transparency whereas Emergency was "all about entitlement," Patra said.
Referring to the news reports about Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, having to pay Income Tax to the tune of Rs 25 crore, the BJP leader claimed this also showed dictatorial attitude.
"Of course this is nothing but a dictatorial attitude where you feel that you are entitled to usurp money which belongs to the poor tax payers," he said.
Replying to a query, he said parties "which fight for dynasty," including in Telangana, were not democrats but "dynasts.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)