Congress never gave due respect to Sardar Patel, unfortunate that he wasn't India's PM: Chouhan

New Delhi, Oct 31: On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled Statue of Unity, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Congress 'forgot' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and did give him respect that he deserved.

The BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have time and again spoken on how the Congress did not give Sadar Patel the credit and recognition he deserved. Chouhan's remark hours after Statue of Unity's unveiling was on expected lines.

"Congress never gave due respects to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It forgot him, who unified India. I congratulate the PM that he unveiled the world's tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel today. That is the true tribute to him," he said during an election rally.

"Had he not been there, India wouldn't have been unified. Had Kashmir been in his hands instead of Jawaharlal Nehru, its 1/3rd part wouldn't have been with Pakistan. India was unfortunate that Sardar Patel wasn't its PM. What Congress did to him, need not be said again," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi this morning unveiled the world's tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, in Kevadiya in Gujarat's Narmada district. The 182m-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was inaugurated to coincide with the 143rd birth anniversary of Patel, India's first home minister. The Rs 2,389-crore monument is a tribute to Patel who played a major role in integrating the princely states into the Indian Union after the partition of 1947.