War of words between Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi escalates

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The war of words between Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Naredndra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi escalated on Saturday after the latter said that BJP does not understand Sardar Patel`s ideology. While speaking at a public rally in Bardoli in Gujarat, the Gandhi scion said that "those who do not understand the ideology of Sardar Patel want to make his statue." He further said that, “a poisonous mentality killed Mahatma Gandhi." Modi, while addressing a rally in Guwahati said, “the Congress has forgotten the ideology of Patel.” "Everyone says that you are from BJP and a part of RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and you are constructing the statue of unity... For you, he must be just a party leader (of Congress), for us, he is a national leader," Modi said. "Sardar Patel is a national figure. He doesn`t belong to any party. The Congress has forgotten him. We have forced them to remember him after 60 years," he added.  Modi has announced the statue of Patel on the banks of the Narmada in Gujarat, would be the tallest in the world.  (With IANS Inputs)