Ahmedabad: Accusing the BJP-RSS of carrying out a “well-planned conspiracy” against national heroes, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday asserted that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s ideology was contrary to the RSS’ ideas and said it is laughable that today that organisation which “has no contribution” in the freedom struggle claims his legacy.
In his opening address at the Extended Congress Working Committee meeting at the Sardar Patel Memorial here, Kharge also said that today, attention is being diverted from the basic issues of the country by indulging in communal division.
“On the other hand, oligarchic monopoly is on the path of controlling the government by capturing the resources of the country,” he said.
Following the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the two leaders are scheduled to visit Sabarmati Ashram in the evening.
Meanwhile, Priyanka Gandhi has yet to arrive in Ahmedabad, though 80 other Congress leaders are expected to touch down today on two chartered flights.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting kicked off at the Sardar Patel Memorial in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge setting the tone.
He began by marking the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidency in the Congress, a milestone from the 1924 Belagavi Congress in Karnataka, where Gandhi took charge. The Congress celebrated this historic moment on December 26 in Karnataka.
Kharge pointed out how three monumental figures from Gujarat had globally elevated Congress: Dadabhai Naoroji, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel – each a former Congress president.
Gandhi, he emphasised, gifted the nation the potent weapons of truth and non-violence, philosophies that no power can ever subdue.
Today, however, Kharge lamented the diversion from critical national issues as communal divisions are sowed, and an oligarchic monopoly seeks to control the country’s resources. Drawing a parallel with the monumental success of the Champaran Satyagraha under Gandhi and the iconic Bardoli Satyagraha led by Sardar Patel, Kharge reminded the gathering of their lasting legacies in India’s freedom struggle.
This year, on October 31st, the nation will celebrate Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary, a milestone Nehru once called “the founder of India’s unity.” Kharge underscored that the Congress will honor this anniversary nationwide, reflecting on Patel’s pivotal role, particularly as president of the Congress and as the guiding force behind resolutions on fundamental rights passed during the Karachi Congress-principles embedded in India’s Constitution.
Patel’s leadership didn’t stop there; he also chaired the critical ‘Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, and Tribal and Excluded Areas’ within the Constituent Assembly. Yet, Kharge pointed out, a deliberate conspiracy over the years has sought to malign national heroes, with some distorting Congress’s proud 140-year legacy of service and sacrifice for the nation.
“There’s an attempt to sow discord between Patel and Nehru,” Kharge warned. “But the truth is they were inseparable allies, two sides of the same coin.”
He recalled Patel’s 1937 speech at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, where he expressed deep affection for Nehru, pledging to welcome him with open arms if Gujarat secured victory in the provincial elections.
In 1949, Patel further expressed his admiration for Nehru’s tireless service, acknowledging how the strain of his responsibilities had visibly aged him.
The correspondence between Patel and Nehru was a daily affair, Kharge added, underscoring Nehru’s respect for Patel, often seeking his counsel and even holding CWC meetings at Patel’s residence for his convenience.
Kharge sharply criticised the irony that today, those aligned with the RSS – an organisation Patel had banned due to its ideological differences – are attempting to claim his legacy. He also highlighted the pivotal role Congress played in ensuring Dr BR Ambedkar’s place in the Constituent Assembly, a point Dr Ambedkar himself acknowledged in his final speech in 1949.
Kharge reminded the CWC of the hypocrisy in the RSS’s historical stance, noting how, when the Constitution was finalized, the organization fiercely opposed it, even burning effigies of key leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, and Ambedkar. He pointed out how the Modi government insulted these great figures by relegating their statues to obscure corners of Parliament.
Turning his focus to the present, Kharge condemned the BJP and Sangh Parivar’s systematic takeover of institutions tied to Gandhi’s legacy, such as the Sarva Seva Sangh in Varanasi and Gujarat Vidyapeeth, sidelining Gandhian values and cooperative movements.
“People with such divisive ideologies might even steal Gandhi’s glasses and his walking stick,” Kharge said, emphasising how Congress remains steadfast in its respect for both the Constitution and the visionaries behind it.
In closing, Kharge reaffirmed the Congress Party’s commitment to honoring Sardar Patel’s legacy.
The CWC meeting, held at the Sardar Patel Museum, was a tribute to his enduring influence, with the Congress vowing to carry forward his ideals, even as those with contrary views attempt to erase.
