The entire Punjab on Sunday, in all saffron, ran in unity with the rest of the country to pay tributes to the country’s first Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who saved the country from getting disintegrated.
The ‘Run for Unity’ marathon, organised all across India on Patel’s death anniversary, was the part of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s project of building world’s largest statue of the ‘Iron Man of India’. This marathon was the first step to start the exercise of collecting iron, and soil from different parts of the country.
launched in Vadodra by Modi, the marathon was led by state BJP president Kamal Sharma in ludhiana which started from Basti Jodhewal Chowk towards Sunder Nagar. The marathon was later joined by various BJP leaders at different points of the route. People of all ages and from different sections of the society participated in the marathon, which mainly comprise of BJP supporters, besides schools, colleges, youths, doctors, educationists and members of different NGOs wearing T-shirts with a picture of Sardar Patel on it, or with the “Statue of Unity” logo on it.
For the purpose, 565 places were chosen by the BJP for the run as Patel had integrated this number of princely States into the Union of India at the time of Independence. However, the marathon was held at more than 1,000 places.
Besides this, BJP is also reaching out to people to collect iron pieces for the ambitious 182-metres ‘Statue of Unity’ that Modi wants to build in memory of Sardar Patel. Modi has asked farmers and workers across the country to contribute iron pieces for building the statue, besides signing a swaraj petition, along with the picture of village sarpanch or ward’s head for the “largest” photo-collage. “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust would build Patel’s statue near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat. This 182-metre-high ‘Statue of Unity’ will be the world’s tallest statue,” said BJP Kisan Morcha’s national secretary Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal.