Modi calls ’84 riots blow to nation’s unity; says Gandhi was incomplete without Patel

“…In the same country, 30 years ago, on the birth anniversary of the same leader something happened which cast a blow to the unity of the nation,” the PM said.

Modi’s reference to late prime minister Indira Gandhi confined to only one sentence: “Today is also the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi”. But on the riots that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi, he said: “Our own people were killed on that day. That incident was not a wound in the heart of any community. It was a dagger in the centuries-old fabric of India’s unity.”

He was eloquent on the legacy of Patel, whom BJP has been trying to make an icon of the party. “Patel never deviated from his vision of national unity despite facing obstacles in his political life… Let us not forget that a nation that disregards its history can never create one… Don’t divide history, legacy in narrow confines of ideology.”

The Prime Minister, who referred to Patel as as the true “architect of Modern India”, went on to say: “When we see Ramakrishna Paramhans, he appears to be incomplete without Swami Vivekananda. Similarly, when we see Mahatma Gandhi, he also appears incomplete without Sardar Patel.”

Comparing Patel to Chanakya, Modi said, “The country can never forget Sardar Patel. Centuries ago, Chanakya conducted a successful experiment of establishing a strong set up by uniting small princely states… Post Independence, the same great work was done by the man whose birth anniversary we are celebrating today, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.”

“It is unfortunate that the man who dedicated his life for the unity of India, faced criticisms and opposition,  suffered hurdles in his political career but was never deterred from his goal of uniting the country,” Modi said.

The BJP’s plans for grand honour to Patel, termed by Congress as a move to own the first home minister’s legacy, and Modi’s decision to launch a cleanliness drive evoking Mahatma Gandhi have not gone down well with Congress.

Meanwhile, Patel’s family members have handed over plates, cups, saucers and some other items used by him to the Prime Minister. A PMO statement said  Patel’s personal belongings were presented to Modi by Sheila Ghatate of Delhi-based Manjiri Trust. These items had been willed to Ghatate by Bipin Dahyabhai Patel, grandson of Sardar Patel, and his wife Lui.

On his Facebook page, Modi wrote that these are “a unique part of India’s heritage.”