Dalit activist says India would have become Pakistan if Sardar Patel was made PM

Dalit activist and author Kancha Ilaiah has stirred a controversy by saying that India would have gone on the lines of Pakistan had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel become the nation's Prime Minister.

Speaking at the Times LitFest on Sunday, Ilaiah said that Patel was close to the Hindu Mahasabha and added that he wouldn't have allowed Ambedkar to draft and write the Constitution.

The Congress Party said everyone had a right to have an opinion.

"What Kancha Ilaiah has said is his personal view. One leader cannot be compared with another as every leader has his own stature. I would not like to comment on his views," Congress leader P.L. Punia said.

-ANI