If not for Sardar Patel, shiv bhakts' would need visa for Somnath temple: PM

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi slammed all those criticising the government’s decision to build the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel after inaugurating the 182-metre tall monument at Kevadiya in Gujarat on Wednesday.

“…to my surprise, some people of this country are seeing our movement through the political glasses. We are criticized for praising the contributions of national heroes like Sardar Patel. We are made to feel as if we have committed a serious crime," he said.

The Prime Minister also used the occasion to take a veiled jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi saying, “had Sardar Patel not worked for unity", "shiv bhakts" wouldn't have been able to pray at the Somnath temple today”.

“If Sardar Patel had not united the country, the countrymen would have needed visas to see lions in Junagadh… and 'shiv bhakts' would need a visa to perform puja at Somnath temple in Gujarat or to see the Charminar in Hyderabad,” PM Modi said in his 55-minute address.

This is not the first time that the Prime Minister has attacked Rahul Gandhi over his visit to Somnath temple. In November last year, after the Congress chief visited the temple, PM Modi had said that Rahul Gandhi's grandfather - Jawaharlal Nehru – had opposed the reconstruction of the Somnath temple.

"When Sardar Patel took up the work of reconstruction of Somnath temple, Nehru was unhappy. Your great-grandfather Nehru wrote a letter to President Rajendra Prasad when he was to come for the opening ceremony of the temple," PM Modi had said.

The ‘Statue of Unity’-- world’s tallest statue – has been built at a cost of Rs 2,989 crore with over 70,000 tonnes of cement, 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel, 6,000 tonnes of structural steel and 1,700 metric tonnes of bronze for the outer cladding of the structure being used.