The invitation card of the function says that the prime minister will be the chief guest and the Gujarat chief minister will be the special guest.
Narendra Modi is at the inauguration of National Museum dedicated to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in Ahmedabad.
Manmohan Singh is also present here to inagurate the museum.
The invitation card of the function says that the prime minister will be the chief guest and the Gujarat chief minister will be the special guest.
Modi, who has been criticising Congress for ignoring Sardar Patel's legacy, will lay the foundation stone for Patel's prposed 182-metre tall statue Oct 31, the 138th birth anniversary of the 'Iron Man'
Excerpts from Modi's speech:
* I wholeheartedly welcome the PM to Gujarat.
* Be it Maoism, Terrorism these are challenges to our unity.
* Maoism is a serious concern. Appeal to youth who have taken the wrong path - it does not lead to good.
* If Sardar Patel would have been first PM, the fortunes of our country would be entirely different.
Excerpts from PM's speech:
* Sardar Patel had said that the entire nation is his village and all the countrymen are his friends.
* We are here to honour a proud son of India and Gujarat. He was among India's biggest leaders.
* Relationship between Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel was like a father and son.
* I'm honoured to be a part of the Congress of which Sardar Patel was a lifetime member.
* Sardar Patel was a truly secular man.
In Narendra Modi's speech, he openly slammed India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru by saying, " If Sardar Patel would have been first PM, the fortunes of our country would be entirely different." This was an indirect jibe at the Congress party and the Nehru-Gandhi family of whose dynastical politics he has always been critical of.
In reply, Manmohan Singh during his speech said, " Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad taught us to respect all people even if their ideologies were different. Sardar Patel always dreamed of an united India with a secular outlook. Today there is dearth of these thoughts and I believe everyone present on this dais will do a self-assessment about it." This was in reference to Modi and his recent speeches which were filled with attacks on the Gandhi family.
Watch the full speech here:
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