New Delhi: The invaluable contribution of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the unification of the country as its first Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister, cannot be ignored, but since the past several decades, questions are being raised on respect accorded to the stalwart.
The BJP has been alleging that the Congress has always neglected Patel’s role in order to glorify the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Politically, the BJP has staked its claim to the political legacy of Sardar Patel in Gujarat as well as across the country. Although the BJP claims that Patel was sympathetic towards the RSS, various opposition parties remind the saffron party that after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, Patel had banned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as the Home Minister.
While talking to IANS, senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar recalled the era of independence and said that the Congress which had promised to give ‘Purna Swaraj’ or complete freedom, instead led to creation of a divided India.
At the time of the crisis, Patel played an important role in the country’s integration as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Union Home Minister. Hailing Patel, the Sangh leader said that if the issue of Jammu and Kashmir was also handled by the former instead of Jawaharlal Nehru, then this problem would not have arisen.
This story was originally published in siasat.com . Read the full story here