India needs Patel's secularism, not vote-bank secularism: Modi
KEVADIYA, GUJARAT: BJP's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat chief minister
Narendra Modi on Thursday targeted Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and asked him not to limit
Sardar Patel to the narrow definition of political parties by calling him just a Congress leader.
Modi was addressing a gathering at the stone laying ceremony of the world's tallest statue of India's 'Iron man' Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel at Kevadiya in Narmada district 3km away from Narmada dam on the 138th birth anniversary of the leader.
Modi targeted the PM's statement made in Ahmedabad two days during the inauguration of the Sardar Patel memorial complex in the city. Manmohan Singh had then said, "I am proud and happy that I belong to a political party (Congress) to which Sardar Patel was attached."
Today, taking on the Prime Minister, Modi said, "I am thankful to the PM that he called the Sardar a true secular leader. Sardar was a true secular leader who rebuilt the Somnath temple but his secularism did not stop him from constructing the temple. Today the country needs Sardar Patel's secularism and not the secularism of vote-bank politics. Sardar Patel united the princely states of all the communities, societies, languages and never tried to divide them on any count. The country needs secularism like Sardar Patel not of vote-bank politics which divides the country."
"By aligning Sardar Patel with one party you are demeaning him. Sardar's legacy can not be limited to a party. Sardar's contribution can not be denied by history or by Narendra Modi. His legacy belongs to the country,'' he added.
Modi said, "When I built the Mahatma Mandir in memory of Gandhiji no one objected but when I started this project I faced criticism. Dalits, the marginalized class worship Baba Saheb Ambedkar as God but no one identifies him with anyone party. The great leaders like Maharana Pratap, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru were not BJP leaders but they sacrificed their lives for the country. Country is bigger than the party. Anybody who sacrificed the life for country is our inspiration."
Modi also called the Sardar the tallest leader of India after Chanakya who had united the country. He said, "though the
statue of unity is coming up in Gujarat, it is India's pride. This will give India a new height."
Modi also cornered PM on the Narmada project and urged him not to play politics and grant permission for raising the dam height. He said though all the compliance from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh was over, but the Union government was still not permitting raising the Narmada dam height for no reason.
"I know PM and his boss (Sonia Gandhi)'s team are watching my speech and I publicly want to tell him that for the country's sake don't play politics and give permission for raising the dam height. We will do whatever he says. I don't want my name on a plaque or any credit. He can take credit for everything but please give permission. People of Gujarat and Rajasthan need water, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra need power. Maharashtra can alone save Rs 400 crore per annum.''
Meanwhile, sharing the stage with Narendra Modi, BJP leader L K Advani praised the Gujarat chief minister.
He also recalled former BJP Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's contribution and said that by the nuclear test Vajpayee had reinstated a place of pride for India in the world.
Referring to Sardar Patel's statue, Advani said, "Why can't India be respected as China or America? If through one Shanghai, China can get this much world attention why we can't we have it? This statue of unity is just one attempt in this direction."
Referring to the iron collection drive to collect material to build the statue, he said, "through this drive in seven lakh villages of the country we want to spread the mantra of unity across the country. Through this drive we want development, peace and unity and amity in the country. We can not divide the country in the name of region, religion, caste and creed which is destroying the country.
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