The incident triggered sharp reactions from Congress as well as the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti whose members removed the garland after Vanzara left the venue. Vanzara, a key accused in alleged fake encounter killings of Ishrat Jahan, Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati, was in Surat to attend the rally. Before the rally, he put a garland, having a pen and a toy pistol tied to it, around Patel’s statue.
When asked about the rationale behind offering such a garland, Vanzara told reporters that it was a “symbolic tribute” to Patel’s contribution to uniting hundreds of princely states after Independence.
“It was Sardar Patel who had convinced more than 665 princely states to join the Union of India after Independence.
Though a majority of states got convinced ahnd acceded, some like Junagadh and Hyderabad raised their head in protest. In such a scenario, Sardar kept aside his pen and took up the gun,” he said.