Dec. 16: If the NDA had Kargil, we have Bangladesh.

This in essence was what the Congress sought to convey this morning when it organised a function at its headquarters to mark the 36th independence day of Bangladesh.

It was the first time the Congress had hosted such a gathering, which was attended by party chief Sonia Gandhi and defence minister A.K. Antony among others. The surviving veterans of the 1971 war were invited and Sonia made it a point to greet each of them personally.

Sonia used the occasion to recall India’s “commitment to the ideals of freedom from oppression” and the role played by her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister then.

A message the Congress put out on Sonia’s behalf said: “The liberation of Bangladesh remains one of the brightest passages in the country’s history and marks India’s commitment to the ideals of freedom from oppression and the right to self-determination and democratic self-rule. The diwas (victory day) is a reminder of the courage and valour of our armed forces and the visionary leadership of Indira Gandhi.”

Congress secretary Praveen Davar, who heads the party’s cell for ex-servicemen and was the organiser of the show, maintained that the message was “not political”.

“We want to remind the young generation of 1971. Many of them have grown up only hearing about Kargil. But 1971 was a much bigger military victory. Tell me when in our history have we taken 95,000 prisoners of war and truncated a country which had the full backing of the US?” Davar asked.

He said during the previous BJP-led NDA regime, the Bangladesh “liberation” day had become a mere ritual and was given the short shrift by the government.