In 73 tribal villages, families go without food in protest
Thirty-seven members of Patel’s family, some of whom had flown from the US, attended the event. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment. The statue will remain a source of inspiration for generations to come,” said Patel’s grandnephew, Dhirubhai Patel, who lives in Vadodara.
Urmilaben, Patel’s grandniece, said Modi has kept the independence hero’s legacy alive by having the statue built.
The statue’s inauguration is seen as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) efforts to honour the leaders it accuses the Congress, which has ruled the country for 49 years, of ignoring.
In his response to the inauguration, Congress president, Rahul Gandhi, accused the government of destroying the institutions Patel helped build. “Ironic that a statue of Sardar Patel is being inaugurated, but every institution he helped build is being smashed,” he tweeted. Gandhi called Patel a patriot, who fought for an independent, united and secular India. “A man with a steely will, tempered by compassion, he was a Congressman to the core, who had no tolerance for bigotry or communalism”.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati asked the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to apologise for criticising her for building statues of Dalit leaders when she was in power in Uttar Pradesh.
“All those in the BJP, the RSS and company need to apologise, especially to the people of the Bahujan Samaj, for terming the statues the then BSP government installed to honour icons like Baba Saheb Ambedkar and others as wasteful expenditure,” she said. KEVADIYA (GUJARAT): Some burnt tyres, others released black balloons and many protesting tribal families from 73 villages near Kevadiya in Gujarat did not cook on Wednesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the Statue of Unity.
The reason they gave was that many people displaced for development of the Sardar Sarovar Dam had allegedly not been given a proper rehabilitation package. Besides, for development of areas surrounding the statue, about 3 km from the dam, many trees had been cut, causing environmental damage in tribal areas, they claimed.
“A ~3000-crore statue in one of the most backward districts of Gujarat is a farce. We are not against Sardar Patel, but we want schools and hospitals,” said Praful Vasava, a tribal leader who was arrested along with his aides before they could take out a rally to the inauguration ceremony venue.
Villages in Bharuch, Songadh and Rajpipla are reported to have observed a bandh, with markets remaining closed. Some protesters held placards written in blood, criticising Modi and asking him to go back. At least 17 Congress MLAS and independent MLA, Jignesh Mewani, backed the bandh.
“We do not cook while mourn- ing a death in the family. Today is an equivalent day. Though we were provided food at Songadh police station, we did not eat as our community is fasting today,” said Raj Vasava, an activist who was taken into custody.
The tribals have been protesting since at least 200 families from Kevadiya village were recently shifted to Kaba village for development of the areas surrounding the dam and leading up to the statue. “They have offered land in exchange or cash compensation. But nobody wants to leave their ancestral homes,” said Sanjay Tadvi, whose family had to shift out of Kevadiya.
Narmada collector, R Ninama, said, “On paper, land in Kevadiya was taken over in 1992. But some families were shifted out only recently. The cash com- pensation in the rehabilitation package has been increased to ~7.5 lakh per hectare from ~3.5 lakh, in case the tribals do not want land in exchange.”
The BJP termed the tribal bandh a Congress-sponsored protest. “Development schemes like Vanbandhu Yojana have established a connect between the tribals and the government. The statue will help develop the tourism industry and the local people are happy. The protests are Congress-sponsored,” claimed BJP spokesman, Bharat Pandya.
Congress spokesman, Manish Doshi, alleged, “The BJP, which has failed all communities, has been blaming the Congress for all its setbacks. The fact is be it tribals or patidars, they are unhappy with the BJP.”