‘It will be a true tribute to Sardar Patel’
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that the true tribute to the country’s first Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would be to unite the country on the issue of NRC because the National Register of Citizens would help in checking divisive policies.
“He (Sardar Patel) was able to demolish the evil intentions of anti-India elements who had a mindset of dividing the country, and he included 563 princely states of India into the Republic of India, contributing to the creation of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ and is being recognised as the world’s largest democracy,” the chief minister said while addressing a gathering after paying floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at a programme held at GPO Park here to mark the death anniversary of the Iron Man of India on Sunday.
Yogi Adityanath said the entire country should be united on NRC, and this would be a true tribute to the Iron Man of India.
“Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel checked divisive policies of the British through his efforts,” he said.
The chief minister said that on the issue of NRC, “we will not accept any conspiracy or breach of any kind in the security of the country”.
“A canard is being spread by the opposition against the NRC. Instead of praising the Bharatiya Janata Party government for giving recognition to the citizens, these parties are misleading people. Therefore, the whole country should unite and cooperate on this issue,” he said.
The chief minister said that besides being a great freedom fighter, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would be remembered for being the symbol of India’s national unity.
Yogi Adityanath said the Central government was successful in making Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh integral part of India by abrogating Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that gave a special status to the former state of J&K, by following the ideals of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ of Sardar Patel.
In an apparent reference to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, providing for the grant of Indian citizenship to the persecuted non-Muslim minorities of the three Muslim majority countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the chief minister said India has been “a refuge for the suffering and oppressed humanity of the world”.
He said the world’s tallest statue had been installed on the banks of Sardar Sarovar as per the personality of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
“Today, his memory inspires national unity. The great personality of Sardar Patel empowers all of us to overcome and quit bad habits. Following the ideals of Sardar Patel, we have realised the true concept of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat,” the chief minister said.