NewDelhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tribute to India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Kevadia on the occasion of his 144th birth anniversary on Thursday.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Home Minister Amit Shah also paid tributes to Sardar Patel in New Delhi. Shah also flagged off the ‘Run for Unity’ event from Delhi’s Dhyan Chand National Stadium to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
Various programmes have been organised across the country on the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
Since 2014, October 31 is observed as National Unity Day and people from all walks of life participate in the ‘Run for Unity’. The Statue of Unity in Kevadia was inaugurated by PM Modi in 2018. He had announced to build the statue when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
“Tributes to the great Sardar Patel on his Jayanti. His contribution to our nation is monumental,” the Prime Minister tweeted earlier today.
PM Modi also participated in the National Unity Day parade (Ekta Diwas). He is also expected to visit the Technology Demonstration Site and later interact with Civil Service Probationers at Kevadia.
In his Mann Ki Baat programme on Sunday, PM Modi had urged people to participate in large numbers in the ‘Run for Unity’.
Located on Sadhu-Bet Island, Gujarat, the 182-metre tall statue which occupies over 20,000 square meters is the tallest statue in the world.
It’s on October 31, Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary, that the state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated in two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – nearly three months after the central government scrapped its special status under Article 370.
While flagging off the ‘Run for Unity’, Shah said that Article 370 and 35A were a gateway to terrorism in the country and PM Modi by repealing those provisions has shut that entrance.
“PM Modi fulfilled Sardar Patel’s dream. By repealing Article 370 and Article 35A, PM Modi united Jammu Kashmir with India forever. I want to tell you again that Article 370 and 35A were a gateway to terrorism in the country… PM Modi has shut that gate,” the Home Minister said.
Bureau Report
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