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Gujarat polls ahead: Modi, BJP go all out to appropriate Sardar Patel

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9 years ago

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a gathering on the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas – to mark the 142nd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. Photo credit: PIB

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To commemorate 142nd birth anniversary of Vallabhbhai Patel, Prime Minister flags of Run for Unity and claims earlier governments attempted to erase Patel’s legacy

As the country remembered India’s first home minister and deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 142nd birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP also went all out to appropriate the ‘Iron Man of India’ who, ironically, had once banned the saffron party’s parent organisation – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

As Modi flagged off the Run for Unity from a flamboyant event organised at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in the national capital to mark the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas – celebrated to mark Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary and his contribution in uniting India’s over 500 princely states into a composite Republic – it seemed too much of a coincidence that the BJP’s display of an ever-increasing fondness for Patel came weeks before the Gujarat assembly polls.

Modi launched a not-so-veiled attack at the Congress while underscoring the contributions of Sardar Patel towards building the Indian republic.

“There have been attempts to run down Sardar Patel, to ensure that his contribution is forgotten. But Sardar is Sardar, whether any government or any party recognises his contribution or not but the nation and the youth will not forget him,” Modi said while addressing the mega-event at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium.

However, the rich tributes to Sardar Patel, which are obviously well-deserved and undoubtedly should have been made more often by previous Congress regimes, also have a great political significance for Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, minister of state for youth affairs and sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore flagging off the Run For Unity from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Phot credit: PIB

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh, minister of state for youth affairs and sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore flagging off the Run For Unity from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Phot credit: PIB

Sardar Patel belonged to a humble agricultural land holding Patidar family from Gujarat, the home state of both, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah. The BJP currently faces its toughest poll battle in the past 22 years as Gujarat goes to polls next month and a major reason for this party’s troubles is the raging Patidar agitation in the state that is being led by Hardik Patel, who is threatening to align with the Congress to bring down the state’s saffron government.

In Gujarat, Sardar Patel is an iconic figure whose popularity as the ‘Iron Man of India’ and a hard-nosed realist in Indian politics during the era of Nehruvian socialism arguably surpasses that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and perhaps even of the Mahatma himself. By batting for Patel’s legacy and trying to project the BJP as the party that is fighting to get the Congress icon his true place in history, Modi is cleverly reaching out to the Gujarati electorate – especially the agitating Patidar community which has also chosen Sardar Patel as their icon.

Paying rich tributes to Sardar Patel, Modi said: “The British government wished that India was disintegrated into smaller states. But Patel used all means (saam, daam, dand, bhed, rajneeti, kutneeti) and succeeded in uniting all princely states into a single nation within a very small span of time,” he said.

The Prime Minister said that it was Rajendra Prasad – India’s first President – who had declared that India had become a united nation only due to the administrative acumen and strong leadership of Sardar Patel but that the country was not giving him due respect.

“Rajendra Babu must be happy now, wherever his soul may be, that we are remembering the contribution of Sardar Patel today even though some people tried to run down and erase his contribution. The nation will continue to remember Patel,” Modi declared.

The Prime Minister hailed Sardar Patel as “the main force behind upholding India’s unity and integrity at the time of Independence.”

In recent years, Modi and his BJP have made repeated attempts to appropriate Sardar Patel – a staunch Congressman, acolyte of Mahatma Gandhi and comrade-in-arms of India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In the absence of any freedom fighters within their own ranks who can be projected to rival the popularity and stature of Pandit Nehru, the BJP-RSS combine have repeatedly sought to take Sardar Patel for their icon. The saffron combine has floated misrepresentations and grossly exaggerated claims of how the Congress under Pandit Nehru “insulted” Patel and how, in the past six decades since the death of both Nehru and Patel, the Congress party has sought to erase the contributions of Sardar in an effort to ensure that the aura around Nehru doesn’t pale in comparison.

Modi’s efforts to showcase himself and his party as the force that is keeping Patel’s legacy alive have often led the Prime Minister and his party colleagues from making gaffes at public events while trying to portray the reportedly strained relationship between Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel . The Prime Minister had once famously declared that Pandit Nehru had skipped the funeral of Sardar Patel in December 1950 – a lie that was immediately exposed by the Congress party which released video footage of the country’s first Prime Minister standing beside the funeral pyre of his deputy.

While there is no doubt that Sardar Patel had a huge role to play in uniting India and ensuring that the newly born country of multiple princely states, religions, castes and languages didn’t implode under the sheer pressure of its enormous diversity, Modi and his BJP’s bid to appropriate the icon’s legacy for incremental political and electoral gains in poll-bound Gujarat can’t be ignored either.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Book Mahatma Gandhi Too: Kharge on Sonia, Rahul Vande Mataram complaint

Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the complaint against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi over the Vande Mataram rendition row and defended the Congress’s position.

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6 mins ago

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August 18, 2026

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mallikarjun-kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday questioned the basis of a complaint filed against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over an alleged attempt to disrupt the singing of Vande Mataram at the party headquarters.

Kharge argued that if singing the version of Vande Mataram performed by the Congress was considered a crime, then similar complaints should also be made against Mahatma Gandhi and former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The remarks came amid a political row over the rendition of the national song during the Congress’s Independence Day celebrations at its headquarters on Saturday. BJP leaders had alleged that Sonia Gandhi signaled for the full rendition to be stopped.

The Congress has rejected the allegation. Party leader Udit Raj said Sonia Gandhi’s gesture was related to arranging a chair for Kharge, who, according to the party, was unable to stand for a long period.

Kharge questions complaint against Sonia, Rahul

Kharge said the Congress had been singing the same version of Vande Mataram for years and questioned why the party’s leaders were being targeted over it.

He referred to the use of the same version by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru and also cited the period when Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government was in power.

Kharge said that if the rendition amounted to a crime, then those who had previously sung the same version should also face complaints. He also said the Congress had passed a resolution concerning national songs before many of its current critics were born.

What Congress said about Sonia Gandhi’s gesture

The controversy began after the Vande Mataram rendition at the Congress headquarters during the Independence Day event.

According to the allegations, Sonia Gandhi noticed that the singers were continuing with the full version and appeared to gesture towards Kharge before communicating with the singers.

The Congress disputed this interpretation. Udit Raj said Sonia Gandhi was instead gesturing about arrangements for Kharge, who had been standing for a considerable period.

Complaint filed against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi

A complaint was filed with the Delhi Police on Monday against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. The complainant sought registration of an FIR over the alleged attempt to disrupt the singing of Vande Mataram at the Congress headquarters.

The controversy continued on Monday when Kharge participated in a Vande Mataram rendition in Goa ahead of a Congress convention. The version sung there included the first two stanzas.

The row comes after the Centre made singing Vande Mataram in its entirety mandatory at public gatherings, schools and official government functions, among other places. Parliament has also passed legislation making intentional obstruction, disruption or prevention of the singing of Vande Mataram a criminal offence, according to the report.

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Champat Rai, Anil Mishra get clean chit in Ram Temple donation theft case 

The SIT probing alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Temple has cleared former Trust general secretary Champat Rai and former member Anil Mishra.

Published

10 hours ago

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August 18, 2026

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The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged irregularities in donation management at the Ayodhya Ram Temple has cleared former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and former Trust member Anil Mishra.

The Uttar Pradesh Home Department on Monday handed over the SIT’s final report to the Trust, which will now take further action based on the findings.

Rai and Mishra had resigned from their positions on June 27 after allegations of donation theft emerged. The two former Trust members were subsequently questioned by the SIT about the temple’s donation management process.

Champat Rai denied involvement in donation theft

According to sources, Champat Rai told investigators during questioning that he had no role in the alleged theft. He reportedly said that the suspects were arrested following his complaint.

Rai also told the police that ensuring there were no irregularities in donation collection was part of his responsibility and that he acted after learning about the alleged wrongdoing.

SIT was formed before Supreme Court intervention

The three-member SIT was constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on June 13 at the request of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant headed the panel. Range Inspector General Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar were the other members.

The SIT submitted its preliminary report to the state government on June 23 and made several stringent recommendations.

Following the preliminary report, Trust member Krishnamohan filed a written complaint at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi police station. An FIR was subsequently registered on June 25.

Eight people named in FIR

The FIR named Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ram Shankar Yadav, alias Tinnu, along with other unidentified individuals.

According to the provided report, all eight named accused were arrested and booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The SIT’s preliminary findings also formed the basis for subsequent FIRs and arrest-related action in the case.

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Himanta Sarma accuses Sonia, Rahul of provoking unrest over Vande Mataram row

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma criticised Sonia and Rahul Gandhi over the Vande Mataram controversy and accused Congress of provoking unrest.

Published

23 hours ago

on

August 17, 2026

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Himanta sharma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday criticised Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy surrounding the rendition of Vande Mataram at the party headquarters in New Delhi on Independence Day.

Sarma questioned how the Congress would govern if it returned to power, alleging that the conduct of its senior leaders during the national song had raised concerns.

“During Vande Mataram, the way Sonia Gandhi behaved and the song was stopped midway clearly indicates that if Congress mistakenly comes to power, the country will face a worse situation,” Mr Sarma said.

The Assam Chief Minister also accused Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of encouraging protests in the name of Gen Z.

“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have almost taken a decision to oppose the country in the name of Gen Z. They are provoking people to protest and trying hard to create a bad environment in the country,” he said.

Sarma further alleged that such actions could contribute to instability in the country.

“I am not bothered about these things, but these people are working against the country and provoking the people of the country to protest and bring anarchy,” he said.

What triggered the Vande Mataram controversy

The political row erupted after footage from the Congress Independence Day programme on August 15 surfaced on social media. The video showed senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, during the rendition of Vande Mataram.

BJP leaders have interpreted gestures seen in the footage as an attempt to interrupt the national song. The Congress, however, has rejected that interpretation.

The issue has since become a political flashpoint, with BJP leaders accusing the Congress of disrespecting Vande Mataram.

A complaint seeking action against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over the alleged disruption is also being examined by the Delhi Police.

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