Those who are so quick to claim Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's mantle but who fail to do him justice and actually diminish and distort him will learn that we must dare to be ambitious, confident and try for the best outcomes for India, says National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon
'Sardar Patel's actions must continue to inspire those who have worked for change today and those who aspire to alter the strangling status quo in our national life.'
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP-RSS of carrying out a "well-planned conspiracy" against national heroes and said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's ideology was contrary to the RSS' ideas. He defended the relationship between Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, saying they were "two sides of the same coin". He also criticized the BJP-RSS for their alleged attempts to appropriate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to build the Babri Masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel prevented it. He also lauded Patel's contributions and criticized Nehru's approach to national issues.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's sage advice remains as relevant today as it was during his lifetime, says Vivek Gumaste.
After the public spat over the legacy of Sardar Patel between Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Modi will lay the foundation stone for the statue on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a country-wide marathon to be organised on October 31 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a Union Minister said on Wednesday.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh gave Defence Minister Rajnath Singh diary entries of Vallabhbhai Patel's daughter, disputing claims that Nehru wanted to build the Babri Masjid with public funds.
'Gandhi was Thakur and Gabbar was Jinnah.'
'It is time India withdraws the complaint from the UN and fully integrates the state of J&K into the Indian Union,' recommends Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The debate on Sardar Patel's legacy is less about the Sardar and more about the acute sense of threat felt by the Delhi establishment at the rise of Narendra Modi and questions he has raised about the disproportionate share of credit given to a single family, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
The Union home minister said that on November 15, a grand celebration will be held at the 'Statue of Unity' to mark the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda.
Satinder Singh Sandhu, a supervisor with 108 Emergency Services, recounts the horrific scenes and his biggest regret from the AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, which claimed 260 lives.
A year after the tragic Air India flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad claimed 260 lives, grieving families are still waiting for the final probe report, with investigators yet to release conclusive findings on the disaster's cause.
He also said that although India got independence much before Goa became free, people of the country could not enjoy at that time as they felt uneasy thinking that one part was the country was still under foreign rule.
A minute's silence was observed at Lord's to pay tribute to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, ahead of start of play on Day 3 of the World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday declined Narendra Modi's invitation for an event on Sardar Patel, suggesting that the Gujarat chief minister's motives were not sincere and the name of the great leader was being misused for partisan political agenda.
Sardar Patel was "unquestionably" the freedom movement's first-rank leader and the largest credit for shaping the current geography of India goes to him despite which he was "not officially glamourised", senior minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday.
It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Six months after the Air India AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad, the site remains a haunting reminder for local residents, marked by charred remains and lingering memories of the tragic event.
'Both Nehru and Patel were thorough gentlemen and whatever their differences never disrespected each other.' 'Neither Modi nor Rahul Gandhi has much in them to claim such legacies.' 'They are symptomatic of the sad days that have befallen the nation midwifed and contemplated by Nehru and Patel,' says Mohan Guruswamy.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah said Pakistan would not have been holding a part of Kashmir and Article 370 would not have existed had Sardar Vallabhai Patel handled the Kashmir issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated to the nation the 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the tallest in the world, and said it will be a reminder about the courage of a man who thwarted efforts to disintegrate India.
When the prime minister was offering floral tributes to Patel, flower petals were also showered on the world's tallest statue by an Indian Air Force helicopter.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram fell unconscious at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Tuesday and was taken to hospital. Sources said he probably fainted due to the heat after a hectic day. His son Karti later said on X that his father is fine and is being examined by doctors. The incident occurred during a prayer meeting at the ashram. Chidambaram was carried to an ambulance by other leaders. Earlier in the day, he attended the extended Congress Working Committee meeting at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial.
As part of their ongoing campaign for the July 19 Presidential election, United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee and his rival P A Sangma will be separately visiting Gujarat in next couple of days.
The Congress's second AICC session in Gujarat post-Independence is being held on the 100th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's party presidency and the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
'We need a two-track approach -- one that deals with the leadership of the Naxals, who wish to overthrow the Indian State and the other, which focuses on the concerns of the people they pretend/claim to serve. There is clearly a need to recognise tribal populations as victims -- first of State apathy and discrimination and then of the Naxal agenda.' We again highlight Union Minister Jairam Ramesh's Sardar Patel memorial lecture.
Speaking at the Sardar Patel memorial lecture organised by Prasar Bharati, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh said India's left-wing extremism can be solved only if India's polity can rise above partisan political considerations and set aside old Centre versus state arguments to work concertedly to restore people's faith in the administration.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Indian diaspora in London has been rallying around to coordinate fundraisers to support the UK-based family members of the Ahmedabad plane crash victims, including urgent assistance for two orphaned children.
'Most Indians know very little about Patel which is a great shame.'
'The greatness of India can be experienced by meeting Indians on the frontiers of India.' 'Every citizen on the border is a soldier'
"We are relocating these crocodiles just for the safety of tourists. There is no specific instruction to us about any seaplane service" an official said.
Dr Singh and Modi will share the stage at a function to inaugurate a museum dedicated to Vallabhbhai Patel's life. The function has been organised by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, whose chairman is the Union minister of state for mines, Dinsha Patel.
Remembering Maulana Azad and Acharya Kriplani on their birth anniversary, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that there are historical figures who have been erased from public memory just because they did not belong to a particular family.
"I had said on the soil of Bahraich that glorification of foreign invaders should be stopped and that the national heroes must be honoured. And 1,000 years ago, such a tale of courage and bravery was written by Maharaja Suheldev on this very soil of Bahraich," Adityanath said.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Saturday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that Mahatma Gandhi was killed because of its ideology, saying Congress should not give sermons to others as it itself is pursuing a thinking that is opposite to that of the Father of the Nation and Sardar Patel.
Hindu temples are also coming up in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the prime minister told the gathering.
Singh will take part in an interactive session on the current state of economy with businessmen and traders during his visit.
