People who are building Patel's statue, should have read about him: Rahul

Taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for usurping the legacy of Sardar Patel, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that those who are building a statue of Sardar Patel should have read about him.

"Gujarat has given Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi to the country. They were not just two individuals, but they represent an ideology for nation building," said Rahul while addressing a rally here.

Making a indirect reference to Modi's pet project- the Statue of Unity, Rahul said, "They want to build a statue of Sardar Patel. It is a good idea to build the statue but you should have about him also. What was ideology, his views and how he led his life, they should have read about him. They should have known about Patel's opinion about the RSS. Patel had said that the ideology of RSS is poisonous and it is devastating for soul of the nation."

He reiterated that Gujarat was built by its people and not one individual.

"They claim that the Gujarat model was given by the BJP leaders. The Gujarat was developed by a cooperative model. The state was built by the people not by an individual," he said.

Taking the cause of farmers in Gujarat, Rahul stated: "What kind of chowkidari (guarding) is happening in Gujarat. Lakhs of acres of land are being taken away from the farmers and being given to industrialists. When farmers say something, their voice is ignored."

"Is stealing the land of farmers chowkidari. This is called theft and not chowkidari," he added.