Sardar Patel vs Indira Gandhi: NDA makes its point, Congress holds its punches

President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari were in attendance so were Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. “I join my fellow countrymen & women in remembering former PM Smt. Indira Gandhi on her Punya Tithi,” Modi tweeted and soon flagged off a marathon to mark Patel’s birth anniversary as a day of unity. October 31 remained a day of the prominence in the government’s calendar, but the reason has changed.

PM Narendra Modi flagging off Run for Unity at the Rajpath on the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary in New Delhi on Friday. (Source: PTI Photo)

Finding itself in a piquant situation, the Congress had refused to get provoked. It had cited a  2012 Sonia Gandhi letter to the UPA government asking it to officially observe or celebrate the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi alone. Its argument — the Prime Minister was walking in the direction shown by Sonia Gandhi. But anger was simmering and  some of the leaders vent out their indignation. The BJP, however, said it was just trying to bring back the focus on Patel, India’s first Home Minister, as a man of unity.

By giving prominence to Patel over Indira, Modi sought to reduce the late prime minister into a Congress leader. For it was only the Congress party which was left marking her death anniversary. But Modi remembered Gandhi raking up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. “It is unfortunate that on the birth anniversary of the man who dedicated his life in uniting the country, a tragic incident took place 30 years ago that shook the country and left it deeply scarred,” he said.

“It is petty minded, it is partisan and disrespectful to those who gave their lives to their country, particularly Indira Gandhi who gave hers for the unity of this country,” senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said. Sharma said it was “ironical” that Modi flagged off the ‘Run for Unity’ and not even mentioned “the supreme sacrifice of one of the greatest leaders of our times”. He said Patel was a Congressman who as the then deputy prime minister and home minister had banned RSS, the ideological mother ship of the BJP.

Refuting the allegation, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said there was no question of belittling the importance of any leader while stressing that Patel should be a role model for all. “There is no question of belittling the importance of any leader… Every leader has his place in history. There is no question of denying that. But Sardar Patel is one of the top most leaders who was a freedom fighter, unifier of India…who should be a role model for all,” he said.

“Sardar Patel is a national icon and what the BJP has tried to do is to bring him back into the focus as a man of unity. Earlier the same day was remembered only for Indira Gandhi and Patel was forgotten,” argued R Balashankar, national convenor of BJP’s Intellectual Cell. According to Balashankar, Vajpayee also never used to visit Shakti Sthal to pay tributes to Gandhi on her death anniversary. Vajpayee did visit the memorial on her birth anniversary on November 19.

Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit pointed out that the BJP-led government could have been more “sensitive” to the timing of the celebrations. “Both leaders (Patel and Gandhi) are great leaders, both were Congressmen. Since the birth anniversary of one and death anniversary of other fall on one day, the government could make the timing of the celebration slightly different… Do not forget that it was Vajpayeeji who called Indiraji ‘Durga’ after the creation of Bangladesh.”

Sambit Patra, BJP spokesperson, maintained that the Prime Minister was very particular that the celebration of Patel’s birth anniversary should be kept out of “the premises of politics.” Patra, who pointed out that Modi had thanked Indira Gandhi also for her contribution in the art of nation building, said: “The Prime Minister has specifically told us through this celebration we should think about spreading the idea of unity. This is celebrated across the country with our national flag, not with the BJP flag. BJP has not done politics over it.”