Parliamentarians pay tributes to Sardar Patel

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde led parliamentarians in paying floral tributes to India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 138th birth anniversary Thursday, a statement said.

A booklet containing Patel's profile, brought out in Hindi and English by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, was presented to the dignitaries attending the function.

The then President, Rajendra Prasad, had unveiled Patel's portrait in the central hall of parliament April 23, 1958.