PM invokes Sardar Patel in his Lok Sabha speech

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invoked first Deputy Prime Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, while criticising the Congress party in the Lok Sabha for "dividing the country".

"If Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have been the first Prime Minister of the country, then entire Kashmir would have been ours," he said.

Slamming the Opposition amid the chaos created by them during PM Modi's adress, he said, "You divided the country, despite which the country supported you. You used to rule the nation during a time when the Opposition had no power."

"Aapne (Congress) pura samay ek parivar ke geet gaane me laga diya, ek hi parivar ko desh yaad rakhe saari shakti usi mein laga di. Agar neeyat saaf hoti toh ye desh jahan hai, usse kahin aage hota. (For decades, one party devoted all their energies to serving one family. The interests of the nation were looked over just for the interests of one family)", he added.

Prime Minister continued to speak even when the Opposition kept raising slogans, "Democracy is not a reward granted to us by Congress or Nehru ji, democracy is in our blood, it is our tradition."

Prime Minister Modi was addressing the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's address on Wednesday.