Patel should have been first PM: Modi

President Patil was the chief guest on the occasion and the function was organised by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society,headed by Patel.

Modi’s comments visibly stunned the Congress leaders,particularly Patel,who heads the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial Trust and hosted the function. Patel had avoided printing Modi’s name on the invitation cards for the function. Patel was also not willing to grant time to Modi for his speech until,according to Patel,the CMO “repeatedly pestered” him to give Modi a seat next to the President and give him five minutes to make a speech.

Without directly casting aspersions on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,Modi said: “None among the politicians at the time of Independence deserved to be the first prime minister of India other than Sardar Patel. Appointing Sardar as the first prime minister of the country would have been the highest tribute to him,” said Modi who himself is often referred to in Gujarat as ‘Chote Sardar’.

Modi said suicides by farmers as in some parts of Maharashtra would not have happened had Sardar Patel been made the first PM. However,Modi did not elaborate how Sardar’s ascension to the post of PM in 1947 would have prevented farmers committing suicide now.

Modi said Kashmir would not have witnessed terror at all if Sardar was made the first prime minister. He added that in November 1950,a month before his death,Sardar had written to Nehru asking him for a change in India’s policy with regard to China. He said Sardar had advised Nehru not to trust China as there was a strong possibility of it posing a threat to India.

Reacting to Modi’s comments,Congress spokesperson Jayantilal Parmar said Modi had “misused” the hospitality extended to him. “Modi misused the platform. It was not a political function. He should have restrained himself from raising such controversies.”