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Rahul Gandhi jabs at Narendra Modi's degree after PM's claim on Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Only a student of…’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed the world learned about Mahatma Gandhi only after Richard Attenborough's 1982 biographical film "Gandhi."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a veiled jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the world did not know about Mahatma Gandhi until the release of Richard Attenborough's 1982 biographical film "Gandhi."
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote in Hindi, “Only a student of 'Entire Political Science' would need to watch the film to know about Mahatma Gandhi,” taking an apparent jibe at Modi's Masters degree.
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In an interview with TV news channel ABP, Modi claimed that the world was not aware of Mahatma Gandhi and asked whether it was not the nation's responsibility to get Gandhi a level of global recognition in the last 75 years.
"Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul in the world. In these 75 years, was it not our responsibility to inform the world about Mahatma Gandhi? No one knew about him. Forgive me, but the first time there was curiosity about him in the world was when the film 'Gandhi' was made. We did not do it," the prime minister said during the interview.
“If the world knew Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi was no less than them and you have to accept that. I am saying this after travelling the world…” Modi added.
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The prime minister’s remarks sparked a major backlash, with many pointing out Gandhi's already well-established global legacy prior to the film's release.
Congress leader Pawan Khera took a swipe at the BJP leader, saying, “It is good that before Modi ji became the prime minister, statues of Mahatma Gandhi were installed in dozens of countries around the world, otherwise Modi would have been getting statues of Ben Kingsley installed.”
Veteran British actor Ben Kingsley played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1982 movie.
Jairam Ramesh, senior Congress leader in charge of communications, said, “If anyone has destroyed the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, it is the outgoing prime minister himself. It is his government that has destroyed Gandhian institutions in Varanasi, Delhi, and Ahmedabad.”
