PM Modi avenged Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's ban on RSS by removing name from Motera stadium: Congress

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera also claimed that Modi fears that he would face the fate of LK Advani whom he has "sidelined"

Pounding on the BJP for renaming the Sardar Patel stadium in Gujarat after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Congress on Wednesday claimed that it was done to avenge Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's act of banning the RSS after Mahatma Gandhi's death.

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Beautiful how the truth reveals itself. Narendra Modi stadium. Adani end. Reliance end. With Jay Shah presiding. #HumDoHumareDo."

At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the Modi government knows that it has not done anything worthy for successive governments to remember and that was why it was usurping credit for things done by others.

"Modi has renamed an existing stadium built in 1983 during the Congress government and in an unprecedented fashion has removed Sardar Patel's name. This is the second time he has insulted great sons of Gujarat and international icons. In 2017, he replaced the photo of Mahatma Gandhi with charkha from the Khadi calendar and replaced it with his own," he said.

"Today he has done the same with Sardar Patel. We understand the acrimony and hatred you have for the two icons...Patel has banned RSS...Now you have avenged that act. History will not forgive you," Khera said. By removing Patel's name, he said, Modi and the BJP have hurt and insulted every Indian. "You have Adani end and Reliance end at the stadium. That is the story of India," he said.

Read: Reliance, Adani pavilions in Narendra Modi stadium spark row

Khera also claimed that Modi fears that he would face the fate of LK Advani whom he has "sidelined". He also defended the Congress government's naming of projects and similar infrastructure after Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, saying that the successive governments have done it as a tribute to previous governments and prime ministers.

In other reactions, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted, "Maybe they just realised the stadium was named for a home minister who had banned their parent organisation! Or maybe this is advance booking to ensure the next visiting Head of State is hosted here, like Trump? Or is this the beginning of a legacy-creation-thru-labelling spree?"

Congress MP Rajeev Satav said, "Renaming Motera cricket stadium from Sardar Patel to Narendra Modi is an absolute disgrace. This shows how narcissistic our PM has become. This is outrageous and a clear sign of autocratic dictatorship."

Without referring to the stadium, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted a Hindi quote of Sardar Patel, "there is something unique in this soil, which has always been the abode of great souls despite many obstacles."