Satna, Sep 27 (IANS): Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the Modi government for insulting India's first Home Minister late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, saying that the statue being built for him in Gujarat is "Made in China".
BJP President Amit Shah hit back at him and accused the Gandhi family of "humiliating" and unsuccessfully trying to erase the legacy of Sardar Patel.
"Modiji had promised to build the world's largest statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat. But later it was revealed that on the back of the statue it was written Made in China," Gandhi said while addressing a public meeting here.
Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, the Congress chief said, "Look how he insulted Sardar Patel. His statue was built, and behind it, it was written Made in China," he said.
The Statue of Unity, which is 182 metres from the ground and 240 m from the river base of Narmada, has been completed. The inauguration of the statue will be done on Vallabhbhai Patel's 143rd birth anniversary on October 31 by Modi.
Gandhi also said that the Prime Minister had "cheated" the people of the country by making false promises.
"Modiji had promised to you that he shall provide employment to two crore youths every year. But what is the condition now?" he asked.
Slamming the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state, the Congress leader said, "And this damage has been done in the last four years by Modiji and to people of Madhya Pradesh in last 15 years by (Chief Minister) Shivraj Singh Chouhan."
"They made false promises. They lied to you. And your right of employment has been snatched," he claimed.
Gandhi said that if his party forms the government in the state, then within five years the youth of the state would find Made in MAdhya Pradesh and Made in India written on the back of their phones.
After Gandhi's charge, BJP President Amit Shah also hit back accusing his family of humiliating Sardar Patel and unsuccessfully trying to erase his legacy.
"Dear Rahul Gandhi, your family humiliated Sardar Patel, unsuccessfully tried to erase his legacy from the people's hearts and minds. Your lies on the 'Statue of Unity' is another display of your visceral hatred towards Sardar Patel," Shah said in a series of tweets.
"At a time when India is uniting to pay tributes to Sardar Patel by building a grand ‘Statue of Unity' the Congress President is spreading canards to discredit the project. Shame," the BJP chief added.