The Congress on Wednesday used Vijay Diwas — the day Pakistan was defeated by India in the 1971 war — to question the BJP’s claim of monopoly over nationalism and the perception about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s robust leadership.

The party’s top leadership ran a carefully crafted campaign on social media to send out a message that nationalism and patriotism can’t rest on narrow partisan politics and the leadership’s strength should be judged on facts instead of hollow rhetoric.

They compared Indira Gandhi’s decisive response to the crisis in 1971 despite firm American intervention in favour of Pakistan with Modi’s handling of the Chinese intrusions, hoping that the younger generation would try to take a holistic perspective of what a robust leadership is all about.

The Modi government also launched year-long celebrations with the 50th year of Vijay Diwas beginning on Wednesday.

Although Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra threw only subtle hints about the difference in the attitudes of the two leaders — Indira and Modi — other leaders explicitly dwelt on the subject, apart from hundreds of analytical messages posted by the Congress on its Twitter handle.

Rahul tweeted: “I bow to the valour of the Indian Army and congratulate the countrymen on the historic victory of India over Pakistan in 1971. This is a story of that time when India’s neighbours acknowledged the strength of India’s Prime Minister and feared violating our borders.”

Congress veteran and former finance minister P. Chidambaram, however, spoke freely, saying: “India acted as a responsible power to protect peace in South Asia. That was true nationalism. There were no exaggerated claims, no boast. We have to compare the way this (1971) war was conducted then and the battle cries raised today. Today, India is not even willing to name the country which has encroached into our territory.”

Chidambaram added: “Everyday, China strengthens its position on the borders and (we hear) only claims that India is matching in strength. No one is sure, there is no transparency, no information. It is a good time to look back 49 years ago to recall how a truly patriotic war effort must be conducted by leaders of this country. Let’s spare a moment to remember those brave soldiers, especially those who laid down their lives or were injured.”

Modi not only took personal credit for the Balakot surgical strike, a much smaller event in comparison, by using such expressions like “Modi ne mara”, but also hijacked the entire 2019 parliamentary election using that triumphant war rhetoric.

Congress leaders on Wednesday didn’t refer to the Balakot strike, the outcome of which is still not clear, and focused on the Chinese intrusions instead. Senior leader Pramod Tewari said: “China is threatening us, encroaching upon our land. Our brave soldiers would have taught them a lesson had there been a strong leader like Indira Gandhi.”

At the Congress’s official briefing also, spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: “While we owe it to our brave soldiers, the strong and decisive leadership of Indira Gandhi is needed to ensure that enemies are scared of India and actions are taken in national interest without fear, despite interventions by big global powers. China has today occupied our land and we are in denial. If today’s leadership demonstrates even a fraction of the courage shown by Indira Gandhi, our soldiers can teach the encroachers a lesson.”

Many other leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Shashi Tharoor and Salman Khurshid posted videos to talk about the great victory that gave birth to a new nation — Bangladesh — and argued that previous leaders didn’t use the valour of soldiers for personal publicity and electoral campaigns. The party also used the occasion to deal with jingoistic nationalism, trying to give a correct perspective of history and meaning of patriotism in a democracy.

A message posted by the Congress said: “Patriotism is nothing if not an unconditional devotion towards our fellow beings. Isn’t prioritising the needs of the people the purpose of democracy? Isn’t ensuring their safety, security and prosperity the meaning of true nationalism? Isn’t serving fellow citizens with true devotion and dedication an essential quality of real patriots?”