New Delhi: In what is being seen as a tussle between the Congress and the BJP to claim the legacy of Sardar Patel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today projected the nation's first home minister as the real statesman whom most states favoured to lead the nation instead of Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, while the grand old party accused the ruling dispensation of attempting to appropriate its leaders. Mr Modi even charged the Congress with having forgotten Patel at a function to mark the birth anniversary of the first home minister of the country, which coincided with the death anniversary of late prime minister Indira Gandhi.
The main Opposition, tried to match the ruling combine onslaught by highlighting Indira Gandhi's contribution to the nation and accused the BJP of attempting to relegate her to the background. In a stinging attack on the Congress, Mr Modi, after inaugurating a digital exhibition on Patel, said that at the time of Independence, "states had sent proposals in favour of Sardar Saheb, not for Nehru but Mahatma Gandhi backed the latter. "Perhaps, Gandhiji felt that being a Gujarati, it would be improper for him to side with another Gujarati," Mr Modi said amid laughter, stressing that his comment came in a lighter vein.
From the 'Unity Run 'to launching of the digital exhibition to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the NDA government today held a series of programs to highlight his contribution with an underlined message that the Congress tried to suppress and make him a forgotten person in the last seven decades. In fact, the Prime Minister, in an obvious attack on the grand old party, accused the previous governments led by it of denying Patel his due place in the national discourse and said, at another function held earlier in the day, that they owe an explanation to the future generations.
Pointing out the various steps taken by his government to recognise the contribution of the ‘Iron Man’, Mr Modi, without naming the Congress, said, "All these works should have been done 40 to 50 years ago. History will seek an answer from those who have not done it.’’(UNI)