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Prime Minister Narendra Modi flags off 'Run for Unity' at Rajpath
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held a series of functions to commerate the birth anniversary of India's first home minister Sardar Patel and asked Indians to build on his legacy.
Earlier in the morning, he flagged off 'Run for Unity' event from Vijay Chowk. Modi, himself, walked along the Raj Path to India Gate after flagging of the run in which hundreds of people participated.
"I bow to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary. Sardar Patel's life is a journey of deep-rooted courage, dedication and service to the Motherland. He is truly the architect of Modern India," the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
"The British wanted India to break into pieces but Sardar Patel unified the 550 provinces into one country," Modi said while addressing the nation later. "Sardar Patel joined Mahatma Gandhi in the integration of farmers in the freedom struggle. He (Patel) played an integral role in the Dandi yatra."
"Mahatma Gandhi seems incomplete without Sardar Patel. It was a unique partnership that strengthened the struggle for independence," he added.
Modi, who was dressed in a white kurta pyjama with a red coloured shawl, also administered a pledge at the Rashtriya Ekta Divas (National Unity Day) programme at the expansive Vijay Chowk.
Exhorting Indians to take Patel's legacy forward, Modi said, "Sardar Patel "gave us one India" and it is our responsibility to "turn into sreshta (superior) Bharat."
The Modi government has decided to observe the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel as National Unity Day.
The Gujarat government is also building a 182 metre statue of Patel, also known as "Iron Man of India".Patel was born Oct 31, 1875.
Modi also remembered former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 30th death anniversary.
"I join my fellow countrymen and women in remembering former PM Indira Gandhi on her Punya Tithi," Modi said in another tweet.
Later, he referred to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots was "like a dagger pierced through India's chest."
Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own bodyguards on this day in 1984.
Modi flags off 'Run for Unity'
