Modi, Shah, Kharge Pay Homage to Sardar Patel on National Unity Day

The country's first deputy prime minister and home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was remembered on his 151st birth anniversary on Saturday, October 31, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering tributes at the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat. The day is observed as National Unity Day.

In a post on X, Modi called Patel "the architect of Akhand Bharat" and the "Iron Man of the nation", saying he gave his life to building a strong, prosperous and capable India. He added that Patel's sacrifice and devotion were an inspiration for a developed and self-reliant country, though reports differed slightly in the wording they carried.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah called Patel the architect of modern India, crediting his "indomitable courage and foresight" with weaving together a nation "fragmented into princely states". He also cited Patel's role in establishing the All India Services and his work for farmers through the Kheda and Bardoli Satyagrahas, and greeted citizens on the occasion, saying Patel's patriotism would keep inspiring the country towards "One India, Great India".

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said he paid his "humble respects" to the Iron Man of India, calling him a builder of modern India and the architect of the country's unity.

President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan paid floral tributes at a commemorative event in the national capital. At Samvidhaan Sadan, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi joined MPs and former MPs in paying respects, with Kharge calling Patel the architect of a united India, a "lifelong Congressman" and "our eternal inspiration", and saying his vision remained the party's "magna carta". In another post, he said Patel had woven India into a single thread and called his courage and service "our invaluable heritage".

In Telangana, Congress leaders held separate programmes. At the District Congress Committee office in Nizamabad, city Congress president B. Ramakrishna called Indira Gandhi the "Iron Lady of India" on her death anniversary and recalled her decision to nationalise 14 major banks in 1969, besides Patel's role in bringing more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union. Tributes were also paid at Indira Gandhi Chowrasta in Kamareddy.

Patel was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad in Gujarat and died in December 1950. His role in bringing the princely states into the Indian Union after Independence is seen as an important chapter in the country's history, and October 31 has been observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas since 2014.

(With inputs from media reports)