Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP on a day Sardar Vallabhai Patel’s 182-metre statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Soon after the inauguration of the world’s tallest statue, Gandhi said Patel — the Iron Man of India — was “Congressman” who had no tolerance for communalism and bigotry.
While paying tribute to the Iron Man on his 143rd birth anniversary, Gandhi said via tweet, “Sardar Patel was a patriot, who fought for an independent, united & secular India. A man with a steely will, tempered by compassion, he was a Congressman to the core, who had no tolerance for bigotry or communalism. On his birth anniversary, I salute this great son of India.”
Gandhi also accused the government of “treason” in a separate tweet and said that there was a “systematic destruction” of the institutions that Patel had helped building for the nation. First Home Minister of the independent India, Patel is known for his efforts in bringing in 562 princely states into the Union.
However, the ‘Statue of Unity’ built on islet Sadhu Bet in Gujarat’s Narmada district was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on inauguration. The event was planned in the mould of Republic Day in the presence of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and BJP chief Amit Shah and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli.
Earlier, Congress took to Twitter to pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. In a Tweet, it said, “A dynamic leader who spoke straight from his heart, respected the opinion of those who disagreed with him – #SardarVallabhbhaiPatel strongly believed in the unity of Indians who fought the British together and their ability to progress from ‘Swarajya’ to ‘Surajya’.”
Meanwhile, in the capital, President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president Venkaiah Naidu and Home Minister Rajnath paid floral tributes to the Iron of India at the Patel Chowk.
ALSO READ: Rajnath Singh: India is surrounded with possibilities not with incapabilities