Sardar Patel had visualised strong, united India: Ahmed Patel

Ahmedabad, Dec 15 (UNI) Coming down heavily on communal forces that are dividing the nation on religious lines, Ahmed Patel, advisor to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, today said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had visualised a strong and united India.

Mr Patel asked the people to beware of communal forces and said such forces are playing with the feelings of the people.

Unless the minds of the people are united, the freedom that had dawned for us would remain namesake, he said and added that men like Sardar Patel are born once in a millennium. They are not born to grab power, but to give something to society.

''Are we doing the same in his memory?'' he asked after unveiling a bronze bust of Sardar Patel at the city's Paldi chowk here on the occasion of the Iron Man's 56th death anniversary.

Saying that today was ''atma divas'' day, he exhorted the youths to join hands and take a pledge that they will contribute their might to the unity and integrity of the nation, which is facing multi-dimensional threats.

''One party cannot alone fight such threats like terrorism and evils like poverty and illiteracy,'' he said.

Union Textiles Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela said those who are imitating the Sardar by calling themselves ''chhote sardar'' were tarnishing the nobleman's memory.

Recalling the period when he was the chief minister, Mr Vaghela said he had requested the then prime minister Deve Gowda to rename the Ahmedabad airport as ''Sardar Patel airport'' so that people coming and going would remember him. When Mr Gowda came to the airport, he was greeted with the saffron brigade waving black flags against the renaming of the airport.

''Beware of these people. These are the very people who once opposed Sardar's name being associated with the airport and who now claim to be his disciples,'' the Minister said.

Among others who spoke were former deputy CM Narahari Amin, Central Minister of State for Petroleum Dinsha Patel, Central MOS for Railway Naranbhai Rathwa, Leader of the Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Arjun Modhwadia, GPCC chief Bharatsinh Solanki and Siddharth Patel.

Earlier, Jasuben who had designed the bust of Sardar was felicitated. The programme was jointly organised by Paldi Nagrik Mandal and Sardar Sena, an outfit of the Congress Party.

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