Development needs peace, unity: Modi

Underlining “unity, peace and harmony” as the first condition required for India to attain new heights of development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invoked Sardar Patel and his message that the nation can sacrifice anything for its unity. His remarks came at a time when the country is witnessing a debate on growing intolerance and the NDA government is facing criticism for failing to prevent it.

At an event to mark the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, Mr Modi said: “Unity is our biggest strength... We have to move forward with the mantra of unity, peace and harmony.” Mr Modi, who also flagged off the “Run for Unity”, used the occasion to take a dig at dynastic politics, saying it had become a bane of our politics and recalled that Patel never promoted any family member in political life.

The Prime Minister also paid tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 31st death anniversary and said she sacrificed her life on this day and it cannot be forgotten. But the Congress maintained that the PM showed his “petty mind” by not remembering Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary.

Scoffing at what it called the ruling BJP’s attempts to appropriate the legacy of its leader Sardar Patel, the Congress demanded that the government release the communiqué “banning” the RSS by the first home minister after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Even the Left parties were not impressed with the PM’s call for ensuring “unity, peace and harmony”, saying he should know that these values are being threatened by the Sangh Parivar and he should crack the whip on them.

“If the country has to move forward and attain new heights of development, then the first guarantee is.... Irrespective of our language and attachment of our feelings and ideology to any inspiration or system from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Atak to Cuttack, if our goal is to take Mother India to new heights in the world, then the first condition for that is unity, peace and harmony... If 125 crore Indians with the mantra of unity, peace and harmony walk one st-ep together shoulder to shoulder, then the count-ry will move 125 crore ste-ps in one go,” the PM said.

He also announced that a “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” scheme will soon be launched under which one state will choose another state each year and then promote its language and culture.

Mr Modi said it was not for us to evaluate the works of great people but to remember their contributions and to seek inspiration for generations to come. He said after philosopher and jurist Chanakya, Patel can be credited for consistently working for national integration. Addressing the event at Rajpath, Mr Modi said while several people may claim credit for providing reservation to women, it was Sardar Patel who proposed 50 per cent reservation for women in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation when he was mayor of the city in the 1930s.

Recalling Patel’s contribution, he said while the British were playing a divisive game, the country’s first home minister worked overtime for nati-onal integration by making the princely states accede to the Union of India. “He was called iron man not because someone gave him a certificate. It was because of the decisi-ons he had made with an iron grit,” Mr Modi said.

Home minister Rajnath Singh, urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung and state chief minister Arvind Kejriwal were also seated on the dais.

The Prime Minister said while Patel worked to give us “ek Bharat (One India)”, it was now our duty to turn it into “shreshta (best) Bharat”. He also administered a pledge on national integration and ensuring internal security of the nation to those present.

Taking a jibe at the ruling dispensation, Congress leader Anand Sharma said Sardar Patel was a stalwart of the Congress who worked along with Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad and Rajendra Prasad in the freedom struggle.