look news india
On the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of the country’s first Home Minister ‘Iron Man’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a big war of words has once again broken out regarding historical personalities and their contribution to the country’s politics. The main opposition party Congress has reacted sharply to a statement given by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the ‘National Unity Day’ celebration in Kevadiya, Gujarat. In his address, Amit Shah had alleged that the post-independence governments of the country worked to erase the unmatched contribution of Sardar Patel and ‘sideline’ him from the pages of history. Countering this statement, the Congress Party has alleged that Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are politicizing the national symbols of India and through their statements are causing huge damage to the dignity and image of a great personality like Sardar Patel.
Addressing the nation from the courtyard of the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Kevadiya, Gujarat, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that after independence, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who merged more than 500 princely states into the Union of India, was not given the respect he deserved. Amit Shah said that as part of a well-planned conspiracy, an attempt was made to make Patel disappear from the mainstream history of India to serve the political ambitions of a particular family of the country. The Home Minister claimed that the present government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to give Sardar Patel his rightful place, be it building the world’s tallest statue or making his birth anniversary a nationwide celebration as ‘National Unity Day’.
As soon as this statement of the Union Home Minister became public, senior leaders and media in-charges of the Congress Party held a press conference and rubbished Amit Shah’s claims. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh and other spokespersons said that Bharatiya Janata Party and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have had no contribution in the freedom struggle, that is why they are trying to assert their false authority over the great heroes of the freedom struggle. Congress said that Sardar Patel was a diligent soldier of the Indian National Congress throughout his life and a close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru. The party alleged that Amit Shah is presenting the unbreakable relationship between Sardar Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in a wrong light to make political gains, thereby hurting the established legacy and image of Sardar Patel.
On this occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, once again a new debate has started in the political and educational circles of the country on the mutual relations and policies of two great public leaders of India – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Citing historical documents, Congress said that Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel had worked shoulder to shoulder after independence to unite the country and strengthen the democratic foundation. On the other hand, BJP argues that if Sardar Patel had become the first Prime Minister of the country, many other diplomatic problems including the Kashmir dispute would have been solved long ago. This ideological conflict is no longer limited to the freedom struggle only but has become the main issue of modern electoral politics.
This competition to capture the country’s national heroes and their legacy and put each other in the dock is showing signs of intensifying in the coming days. Political analysts believe that this rhetoric on occasions like ‘National Unity Day’ is a planned attempt to influence the upcoming assembly elections of various states and the ideological direction of the country. While on one hand the ruling party is taking credit for restoring the honor of Sardar Patel, on the other hand the opposition is preparing to go among the public by terming it as tampering with the real history of the country and the common heritage of the freedom struggle.