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Taking on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on his turf, All India Congress Committee Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised the political leadership in Gujarat of not understanding the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the former deputy prime minister who played a leading role in the struggle for independence.
Gandhi slammed Modi's style of governance, as well as his Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) roots.
Gandhi was addressing a public meet at Bardoli, 35 km from Surat. In 1928, Patel had successfully led the Bardoli Satyagrah against a 30 per cent increase in taxes on farmers of the drought-hit region.
Without naming anyone, Gandhi said political leaders in Gujarat didn't know history and Patel's legacy. 'Sardar Patel had said the RSS was a poisonous ideology that would destroy the soul of the nation," Gandhi said, adding, "Who killed (Mahatma) Gandhi? These ideologies killed Mahatma Gandhi. After the death of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel proposed to ban the RSS."
"He (Modi) has spent his entire life in the RSS and has nothing to do with the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel," Gandhi said, adding those who didn't understand Patel's ideology now wanted to build his statue.
Modi has commissioned a statue of Sardar Patel on the banks of the Narmada river in Gujarat (the statue is touted to be the world's tallest).
In a reference to Modi's humble origins as a 'chaiwala', Gandhi said, "The whole country does something or the other. One makes tea, the other drives taxi and another does farming. We should respect all, but not one who makes fool of people." Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had made a jibe at Modi, who has tried to highlight his humble roots in his poll campaign. Recently, Gandhi had disapproved of personal attacks on Opposition leaders.
On the political leadership in Gujarat, Gandhi said, "Gujarat mein garibon ki nahi, ameeron ki sarkar hai (The government in Gujarat is run by the rich)." He added the state government was run by just five-six individuals.
Challenging Modi's claims of development, Gandhi alleged about 13,000 government schools and 55,000 small businesses were forced to shut in the state.
The Congress vice-president didn't fail to touch upon his pet issues---the Right to Information (RTI), the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the empowerment of women and the Lok Pal. Alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wasn't sincere in its fight against corruption, he asked, "How many convicted ministers are there in Gujarat?" The crowd promptly shouted, "Three."
He said while the Congress had ensured the Lok Pal Bill was passed in Parliament, Modi didn't let the Lokayukta come to Gujarat for nine years. If the BJP was really against corruption, why didn't it help the Congress pass six anti-corruption Bills in Parliament, he questioned.
