Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress by saying that if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was made the first Prime Minister of the country, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir would have been resolved.
Taking a potshot at the Congress for remembering Patel only during the Gujarat Assembly elections, Modi said the grand old party forgot to mention the late leader during the Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing the Rajya Sabha as part the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the Parliament, Modi said: “We think that if Sardar Saheb (Vallabhbhai Patel) was made the first Prime Minister of India, the issue of Jammu and Kashmir would have been resolved.”
Modi further said even the problems existing in the villages today would have been resolved had Patel been made the first Prime Minister.
“Sardar Patel was a true Congressman. He was made the first Home Minister of the country. But I am surprised as the Congress remembers him only during the Gujarat elections when his pictures become visible in the party’s posters. But during the Lok Sabha elections, his photographs are not seen in any of the party’s posters,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also asked the top Congress leadership to pay tribute to Patel by visiting the Statue of Unity in Gujarat.