Ahmed Patel slams PM Modi for writing blog in Mahatma Gandhi's name

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote a blog post to mark the 89th anniversary of the Dandi March, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel Tuesday said some people are writing blogs in Mahatma Gandhi's name for "political advantage". In the blog post, Modi said Mahatma Gandhi "taught us to think of the plight of the poorest person" and "we have seen and thought about how our work impacts that person."

The prime minister targeted the Congress and said the "anti-thesis" of Gandhian thought is the opposition party's culture. "Following truth and religion, 89 years ago, Bapu had embarked on the Dandi March," Patel said.

"For the past 5 years, some people are writing blogs in the name of Bapu for political advantage, but I would like to remind them that when the march was being undertaken, their teachers had opposed it," he said. The prime minister, in his post, said that while Mahatma Gandhi did not believe in inequality and caste divisions, "sadly, the Congress has never hesitated from dividing society."

"The worst caste riots and anti-Dalit massacres happened under Congress rule," he alleged in the blog post.

(With inputs from agencies.)