Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 150th birth anniversary, and cited the words of Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, to say that “India’s inner monitor comes from the veracity of Patel’s noble soul”.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is also known as the ‘Iron Man of India’, was the nation’s first home minister and deputy prime minister. He is widely known for his role in the integration of princely states and the Indian Union after Independence.
In 2014, the Narendra Modi-led government introduced Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day to commemorate Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary.
Shashi Tharoor took to X and said, “Of the many tributes to #SardarPatel on his 150th birth anniversary, these lines by Gopalkrishna Gandhi resonated particularly: ‘If the Republic of India has a spine in its life, it comes from Ambedkar’s resolve. If it has a glow in its life, it comes from Nehru’s light. But if it has an inner monitor, it comes from the veracity of Patel’s noble soul”.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP further wrote, “India was blessed to have such a trio at the helm during those turbulent years. Pranaams to the Iron Man of India.”
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also paid his “humble respects” to Sardar Patel. “By weaving India into a single thread, he laid a strong foundation for the unity and integrity of the nation – his indomitable courage, foresight, and ideals will forever guide us,” he posted on X.
Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge also paid his respectful obeisance to Sardar Patel and noted that Nehru called him the “Architect of India’s Unity”.
“Sardar Saheb was the President of the Congress. The resolution on fundamental rights passed in the Karachi Congress under his leadership is the soul of the Indian Constitution,” he wrote on X.
Kharge said that Sardar Patel’s ideas, which emphasise mutual harmony and brotherhood, “are an inseparable part of the Congress party’s ideology”.
PM Modi on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a floral tribute to Sardar Patel at the State of Unity in Gujarat’s Nandia.
He hailed the ‘Iron Man of India’ and said the impossible task of uniting over 550 princely states was made possible by Sardar Patel.
Modi also took a swipe at Nehru, saying that Sardar Patel wanted to unite the entire Kashmir into India, but the then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not allow it to happen.
“Sardar Patel wanted to unite the entire Kashmir, just as he did with other princely states. But Nehru ji stopped his wish from being fulfilled. Kashmir was divided, given a separate Constitution and a separate flag – and the nation suffered for decades because of Congress’ mistake,” PM Modi said.
He said that India “burned in the fire” of the Congress’s mistake on Kashmir for decades, and due to the party’s “weak policies”, a part of Kashmir fell under Pakistan’s illegal occupation.
“Kashmir and the country had to pay such a heavy price, yet Congress always bowed before terrorism. Congress forgot Sardar Saheb’s vision, but we did not,” Modi added.
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