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Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to build on the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for a “shresth” (great) India at a “Run for Unity” yesterday, using the occasion to denounce the Congress over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Just before thousands jogged down the Rajpath up to the India Gate monument nearly 2kms away, Modi lavished praise on Sardar Patel - “Iron Man of India” -- on his birth anniversary -- and incidentally the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Sardar Patel “gave us one India” which people need to “turn into a shresht Bharat”, Modi said before walking down the boulevard in the heart of the capital along with thousands of mainly young people who virtually mobbed him, creating a scare for the outnumbered security personnel.
Modi referred to Sardar Patel’s key role in integrating princely states after the 1947 independence to build the modern India. Patel, born on October 31, 1875, was India’s first home minister and, like Modi, from Gujarat.
The prime minister administered a pledge to the gathering, and asked them to embrace the mantra of national unity. Modi said October 31 also marked the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi, who was prime minister for 16 years and who was shot dead on this day in 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, triggering a wave of anti-Sikh violence.
Modi said the riots that left some 3,000 Sikhs dead, mainly in Delhi, was “like a dagger pierced through India’s chest”.
“It is unfortunate that on the birth anniversary of a 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,” Modi said, without naming the Congress party but leaving no one in doubt who his target was.