BJP uses Sardar Patel to get votes: Ahmed Patel

Congress MP Ahmed Patel has launched another salvo at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying the latter only uses the leader of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's name to earn votes and does not follow his teachings.

"They have only one mantra- how to abuse and defame Congress and Gandhi family. Although they said a lot of things, I would like to quote Sardar Patel here," Patel said in his Motion of Thanks delivered to the President's address, and continued, "'Blaming others is the laziest thing to do, working hard to make difference is the toughest thing to do. The lazy ones normally choose the first option. I don't.' Who is saying this? Sardar Patel. They (BJP) use his name to get votes but they don't listen to his words."

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often mentioned Sardar Patel in his speeches, he recently invoked the memory of the Iron Man of India to slam Congress, and said Kashmir would have been in India had Patel been the first prime minister instead of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Raking up the recent bypolls in Rajasthan wherein the BJP suffered a loss in three seats as well as the Gujarat assembly election wherein the 99 seats secured by BJP was on a decline from their previous strength, the Congress MP claimed the ruling party was on a decline and was on the path to losing the 2019 general elections.