BJP recalls Muslim League's 'deadly attacks' on Sardar Patel, targets Congress: 'Buried for 86 yrs, historian exposed it'

File: The Statue Of Unity, the world's tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is seen at Kevadia Colony some 200 kms from Ahmedabad

The Muslim League had orchestrated two deadly attacks on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1939 but the Congress establishment "quietly" kept the story buried for 86 years because it was an "uncomfortable truth", the BJP said on Friday, launching a blistering attack on the opposition party.

In a series of posts on X from its official handle, the BJP said 34 of 57 accused were convicted and two were awarded death sentences by a special court in one of the two incidents of attack in which two "patriots" were martyred protecting Sardar Patel while dozens injured but the "Congress historians" erased the case from textbooks and archives.

"No one dared to mention the Muslim League's role or Congress's cowardly silence," the ruling party said.

There was no immediate reaction from the Congress to the BJP's charge.

This came on a day when the country was celebrating Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary while the Congress was also observing it as Indira Gandhi's 41st death anniversary.

"In 1939, the Muslim League orchestrated two deadly attacks on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and the Congress establishment quietly buried the story," the BJP said, posting on X news clippings and other documents related to the two incidents of attack.

"Why did Congress keep this hidden for 86 years – until historian Rizwan Kadri exposed it? Because the truth is uncomfortable," it added.

Recalling the two incidents, the BJP said that while Sardar Patel was uniting princely states through the Prajamandal Movement, the Muslim League, emboldened by "appeasement politics", began inciting violence in the name of religion with the Congress choosing "silence over confrontation".

"Vadodara – January 20, 1939. As Sardar Patel's procession passed through Mandvi, Muslim League-backed goons shouted 'Sardar Go Back' and pelted stones at his car. The Prajamandal office was set ablaze — a state-sponsored attempt to silence Patel's rising influence. Congress? Muted," it said.

The next day, Sardar Patel urged peace and restraint, the BJP said.

"But, the Vadodara regime staged a fake inquiry and shut the case. This was just the beginning. The Muslim League's goon squads were already planning something deadlier in Bhavnagar," it added.

On May 14, 1939, the BJP said, a mob affiliated with the Muslim League, "allegedly" supported by the local princely establishment, attacked Patel's peaceful procession from the Nagina Masjid as he arrived to lead the Fifth Praja Parishad.

"It was a pre-planned conspiracy. Patriots Bachu Virji and Jadavji Modi were martyred protecting Sardar. Dozens injured. Yet Patel addressed the gathering that evening with calm resolve and tribute to the fallen," it said.

Even after such violence, Sardar never abandoned the path of unity, it added.

"This is the real history of 1939 — where the Iron Man stood firm while political opportunists appeased divisive forces. The attack on Patel was not just an assault on a man — it was an assault on India's unity," the BJP said.

For 86 years, this truth was buried to protect "political convenience", it alleged.

"It took historian Rizwan Kadri to bring it to light — a reminder that even during the freedom struggle, Sardar Patel fought not just the British, but internal betrayal," the BJP said.

"History must record the truth, not Congress's edited version," the party said, adding, "Let's remember the real Lauh Purush – the man who faced stones, knives, and conspiracies but never compromised Bharat's unity."