Gujarat ex-cm taunts Modi on Statue of Unity
Vaghela says PM’S project a ‘marketing gimmick,’ asks him to first unite CBI, RBI
GANDHINAGAR: Former Gujarat chief minister and expelled rebel Congressleadershankersinhvaghela mocked at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his ambitious Sardar Patel’s “Statue of Unity” project dubbing it a “marketing gimmick” and asked him to irst unite the CBI and the RBI.
The prime minister is slated to unveil 182-metre tallest statue in the world, Statue of Unity’ (SOU), at Kevadia in Narmada district on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on Wednesday.
When the internal ighting among the top brass of leading institutions like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has emerged into the public, the prime minister should deal with this crisis irst and then speak of unity, Vaghela said.
“Which unity are you talking about?” the former BJP leader asked while talking to reporters here. “First unite the CBI, the RBI. Unite for saving the downfall of Indian rupee, unite for bringing down fuel prices,” he said.
“When you are talking about Sardar, release the jailed Patidar youth,” Vaghela asserted, referring to Alpesh Kathiriya, a close associate of irebrand Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who is in jail on sedition charges. Patel also faces similar charges.
The former Gujarat chief minister said: “There can be no comparison between the simplicity and austerity of the Iron Man of India, Sardar Patel, and the construction and the motive behind the State of Unity. The project is of around Rs 3,000 crore, a sheer wastage and unproductive expense of public money when Gujarat is laden with a public debt of Rs 2,50,000 crore.”
Vaghela, who was credited with building the BJP in Gujarat with Narendra Modi in tow in the late 80s and early 90s, asked: “Why the sudden love for Sardar whose very name you did not like once?”
Vaghela recalled the time when he was the chief minister and during an event on the naming of the Ahmedabad airport as the Sardar Patel International Airport, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members dressed in black and waving black lags had vehemently opposed the naming in front of then prime minister HD Deve Gowda.
“One shouldn’t have the impression that these people love Sardar... This is just using his name to market themselves. They make a hue and cry of injustice meted out to the Iron Man. When I met Maniben,sardarpatel’sdaughter,shesaid there was never any injustice to Sardar. He didn’t even have the aspirations to be the PM. Which injustice are you talking about?” asked Vaghela.