Jawaharlal Nehru birth anniversary: Congress to distribute 600 copies of 'Discovery of India' today

New Delhi: On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress on Monday (November 14, 2022) said it will distribute 600 copies of India's first prime minister's book 'Discovery of India'. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that copies of the book will be distributed to Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra participants in Maharashtra.

Nehru penned his epic masterpiece when he was put in Ahmednagar Fort jail for participating in the Quit India movement. The book was reportedly written in 1944 and was published two years later.

"Today is 68th day of Bharat Jodo Yatra & also 133rd birth anniversary of Nehru. We are in Hingoli district & coincidentally a fine book on him in Marathi has just come out in addition to one in English & Hindi," Ramesh said in a tweet.

"(Mo) Distorians will continue to distort, defame and denigrate but Nehru continues to inspire & his relevance has only increased after 2014. 600 copies of Nehru's iconic, The Discovery of India, will be distributed to Yatris today. It was brought by a volunteer who drove all the way from Delhi for 23 hours straight at a very short notice," he added.

लेकिन नेहरू प्रेरणा देते रहेंगे। उनकी प्रासंगिकता 2014 के बाद ही बढ़ी है। नेहरू की प्रतिष्ठित पुस्तक भारत एक खोज/हिंदुस्तान की कहानी की 600 प्रतियां आज यात्रियों को वितरित की जाएंगी। इन्हें अल्प सूचना पर एक वालंटियर दिल्ली से 23 घंटे ड्राइव कर के लाया है। 2/2 pic.twitter.com/2UPbBA8HhI — Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 14, 2022

Earlier in the day, Congress paid rich tributes to Nehru on his birth anniversary, saying 21st century India cannot be imagined without his tremendous contribution. Several party leaders paid glowing tributes on social media to the Congress stalwart.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal, among others, also offered floral tributes at Nehru's memorial Shanti Van in New Delhi.

कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge और CPP चेयरपर्सन श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी ने शांतिवन पहुंचकर प्रथम प्रधानमंत्री पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरू जी की जयंती पर उन्हें अपने श्रद्धासुमन अर्पित कर श्रद्धांजलि दी।
भारत के विकास में पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरू जी के योगदान के लिए राष्ट्र उनका स्मरण कर रहा है। pic.twitter.com/MkYcTuBjTc

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 14, 2022

Born in 1889 in Allahabad, Nehru remains India's longest-serving prime minister. He was prime minister between August 1947 and May 1964. He passed away on May 27, 1964.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its 68th day as it resumed from Kalamnuri in Hingoli district of Maharashtra on Monday after a one-day break. It proceeded from Kalamnuri in Hingoli to Washim.

एक दिन का विश्राम और फिर निरंतर उठे कदम...

एक दिन के विश्राम के बाद #BharatJodoYatra पुनः शुरू हुई और जोश, उत्साह की कोई कमी नहीं। pic.twitter.com/1syKtp0X90 — Congress (@INCIndia) November 14, 2022

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, has so far covered 28 districts in six states.

The Congress's mass contact initiative will cover a distance of 382 km across five districts of Maharashtra before entering Madhya Pradesh on November 20.

It will pass through 12 states before culminating in Jammu and Kashmir after spanning a distance of 3,570 km over nearly 150 days.