BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi for Criticising Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Renovation

The BJP on Tuesday lashed out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his attack on the government over the renovation of the Jallianwala Bagh memorial, alleging that his party did not even construct a washroom at the site but is now doing politics over the exercise undertaken by the Modi dispensation. Hitting out at Gandhi, BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh said the Congress leader should explain as to what his party did for the famous memorial, which commemorates the sacrifice of hundreds of unarmed civilians killed by the British forces in 1919, during its rule for decades. When the memorial is now being expanded and modernised, then the Congress is rattled, he said. The memorial even lacked a decent washroom facility for visitors, he said.

For many decades the Congress party was in power and the trust in charge of the memorial was under its control, but its government did not invest a rupee there, Chugh alleged. Former prime minister Manmohan Singh lived in the neighbourhood to the memorial in Amritsar but did nothing for it, he claimed. The memorial is an international heritage and has now been modernised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, the BJP leader said.

Gandhi on Tuesday termed the government's revamp of the Jallianwala Bagh memorial an "insult to martyrs", saying only a person who does not know the meaning of martyrdom can inflict such an insult. Taking to Twitter, the former Congress chief tagged a media report on the outrage on social media over the alleged changes at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial complex with many claiming that it was "destroying history" in the name of makeover. Museum galleries have been developed at the memorial and the event showcased multiple development initiatives taken by the government to upgrade the complex.

A sound and light show has been set up to display the tragic events of April 13, 1919. Four museum galleries have been created through adaptive reuse of redundant and underutilised buildings.

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