Sardar Patel banned RSS, claims Congress

The Congress party, on the occasion of 143rd birth anniversary of freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, said that the 'Iron Man of India' strongly opposed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Attaching an old newspaper clipping of 1948, Congress party took to Twitter and wrote, "The RSS and its ideology have created a danger for the identity of the country."

"Had Sardar Patel been alive today, he would have taken another strong decision for the welfare of the country," the party tweeted.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Ironic that a statue of Sardar Patel is being inaugurated, but every institution he helped build is being smashed. The systematic destruction of India's institutions is nothing short of treason."

Gandhi was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiling the 182-metre-tall Statue of Unity in Gujarat as a tribute to the freedom fighter.

"Sardar Patel was a patriot, who fought for an independent, united and secular India. A man with a steely will, tempered by compassion, he was a Congressman to the core, who had no tolerance for bigotry or communalism. On his birth anniversary, I salute this great son of India," the Congress president said.