Praising the Patel community for its “immense contribution” to the growth of Gujarat, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that development graphs of the state and the community run parallel. Shah, while inaugurating a hostel complex for students in Ahmedabad on Sunday, said: “Today, people are serving the country after studying in many institutions of the Kadva Patidar community of north Gujarat.” Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his former deputy Nitin Patel were also present at the inaugural event of the new building at Amin PJ Kadva Patidar Vidhyarthi Bhavan in Ahmedabad’s Ambawadi area. The hostel has been built by the Kadva Patel community, and will accommodate students from all social groups. Lauding their virtues like studiousness, business acumen and courage, Shah further said: “.I am from Mansa, and have grown up and studied in north Gujarat. I have many friends from the Patel community, especially the Kadva Patel community. I have also studied the development of communities in the country. Today I want to say, without any doubt, the Kadva Patel community has contributed immensely to the development of Gujarat. If you see development graphs of Gujarat and the Patel community, they run parallelly. As the Patel community progressed, Gujarat also progressed.” In Gujarat, this community is divided into two sub-groups — the Kadva Patel and the Leuva Patel. ‘Don’t die, live for India’ Also recalling his college days in Ahmedabad, Shah mentioned he stayed at the hostel of Gujarat University — the key institution to winning any students' election. Established in 1930, leaders like Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel stayed in the hostel for days and conducted important meetings during the freedom movement, Shah said. Highlighting that today, there is no need to die for the country but to live for her, he added: “You may be a good IAS, IPS, CA, doctor, good citizen or housewife, but you need to work for the country.” Explaining the importance of an aim in everybody's life, Shah told the students: “Have an aim in life. If you try to lead a life without aim, time will sway you. If you decide to live your life with an aim, you will sway the time. You must understand the difference. If you decide to have one aim in life, work hard for it. I am confident that you will achieve your goal.” On Sunday, Shah also inaugurated the multi-specialty, SLIMS Hospital, in Ahmedabad. “Built at a cost of over Rs 30 crore, the eight-storey hospital has state-of-the-art facilities.,” he said. -With PTI inputs
