'Sardar Patel in our thoughts': How Congress party is reclaiming Iron Man's legacy

NEW DELHI: In a carefully choreographed move rich in symbolism, the Congress party on Tuesday laid out its future strategy during a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Museum in Ahmedabad. Among the key messages from the gathering was a bold declaration: the party intends to reclaim the legacy of the Iron Man of India.
"Sardar Patel Saheb lives in our hearts, lives in our thoughts. We are taking his legacy forward. We have organised this CWC meeting in Ahmedabad at Sardar Patel Museum with this thought in mind. We pay our heartfelt tributes to him," the grand old party's president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
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The choice of venue was more than ceremonial—it was a pointed political message. As the Bharatiya Janata Party continues to accuse the Congress of sidelining Patel’s legacy, the grand old party is asserting its historical ties with the architect of modern India.
Kharge went all out with pointing out the irony of BJP-RSS claiming the Iron Man's legacy even though Patel's ideology conflicted with that of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), noting that Patel had even imposed a ban on the organisation.
"But it is laughable that today the people of that organisation claim Sardar Patel's legacy," Kharge said.
"An atmosphere is being created against the Congress party which has a glorious history of serving and fighting for the country for the last 140 years. This work is being done by people who have no accomplishments," he added.
He accused the BJP and RSS of deliberately creating a false narrative that Patel and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were at odds, despite the fact that the two leaders shared a close relationship and were "two sides of the same coin."
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"They (BJP-RSS) conspired to show that the relationship between Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru was such that the two heroes were against each other. But the truth is that they were two sides of the same coin. Many incidents and documents are witness to their cordial relationship," he said.
"There was almost daily correspondence between the two. Nehruji used to take his advice on all matters. Nehruji had immense respect for Patel Sahab. If he had to take some advice, he himself would go to Patelji's house. For Patelji's convenience, CWC meetings were held at his residence," he added.

Widely revered as the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress who worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru in the struggle for independence. Following India’s liberation in 1947, he became the country’s first home minister and deputy prime minister, playing a crucial role in unifying over 500 princely states into the newly formed Indian Union.
The BJP has repeatedly accused the Congress—and, by extension, the Nehru-Gandhi family—of neglecting the legacy of towering Gujarati figures like Sardar Patel.