Why Narendra Modi wants you to write a letter this Diwali

New Delhi: Narendra Modi today reached out to voters in a blog to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a day after his joint appearance with the Prime Minister at a tribute in Gujarat became a tug-of-war over the legacy of the India's iron man.

While delivering a message for the Diwali festival on the weekend, Mr Modi asked, "In this age of text messages, WhatsApp, social media, Tweets and Emails, when was the last time you had written a hand written letter?" (Read Narendra Modi's blog here)

Urging people to 'surprise' their family and friends with hand written letters, the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate asked them to "talk about the importance of voter registration". The appeal comes ahead of state polls and the national election due by May.

"If they have not registered as voters, urge them to register and urge them to spread the message to their family and friends! This is something where our NRI friends can help in a major way. Our nation is at a very critical juncture and it is the voters, the Bhagya Vidhatas of a democracy who steer the nation away from troubled times," he said.

Mr Modi, whose rally in Patna on Sunday was targeted by serial blasts, also wrote against "forces threatened by the unity" that Sardar Patel had forged while integrating the nation after independence.

"They have used guns and bombs to scare and mislead the people. From the nation of Lord Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, let us send a strong message to these elements that their ways of violence will not work," he said.

The blog comes a day before the Gujarat Chief Minister's grand event to inaugurate a giant statue of Sardar Patel, claimed to be the world's tallest, in the middle of the Narmada river.
At the launch of a museum dedicated to the icon yesterday, Mr Modi said, "If Sardar Patel had been the first Prime Minister, India would have been different."

Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that Sardar Patel was a Congressman and committed to secularism.