Martin Luther King Jr, Mandela, Einstein took inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi: Rahul Gandhi

“Mahatma Gandhi was a great soul. Wasn’t it our responsibility to get him that level of global recognition during the last 75 years? Nobody knew, please excuse me on this. The first time, when the film Gandhi was made (1982), the world got curious about who he might be,” Modi said in an interview with ABP news on Tuesday.

“We didn’t do the needful…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 that Gandhi and through him, India should have been recognised (Gandhi)…,” Modi said.

Also Read: ‘Nobody knew Mahatma Gandhi until a film on him was made,’ claims Modi

‘Know nothing about Gandhiji’

“Whose training is done in ‘sakha’ of RSS, they are followers of Godse, they do not know anything about Gandhiji. They do not know about the history of Hindustan, truth and violence. This is expected that the PM will tell that the world does not know anything about Gandhiji,” Rahul Gandhi said.

He emphasised that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Einstein, along with various freedom movements, found inspiration in Gandhi’s principles.

“Martin Luther King Jr, Mandelaji, Einstein and many others took inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. Different movements and freedom movements also took inspiration from Gandhiji. Children of India also get inspiration from Gandhiji,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi concluded by saying further comments on the matter were unnecessary.

“There is no need to make more comments (on the subject). Their world is in their sakha,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Also Read: Demography in Bengal’s border areas changing due to infiltration: Modi

Modi’s remarks on Gandhi draw ire

Reacting to the statement Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain told South First that Modi was either really stressed or was really uninformed.

“PM is either extremely stressed or really uninformed. It’s India’s tragedy that such a disrespectful and uninformed person occupied the PM’s office twice. We need dignified, educated people to lead the nation,” she said.

Meanwhile, several people questioned the prime minister for not knowing the significance of Gandhi and accused him of being ignorant of India’s history.

(With PTI inputs)