Observe Sardar Patel's birth anniversary as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas', Centre tells states

New Delhi: The Centre has asked all states to observe the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as a day to foster and reinforce the government’s dedication to strengthen unity, integrity and security of the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in paying tributes to the country’s first home minister. He would offer floral tributes on the statue of Patel in Delhi, followed by administering pledge and flagging off the ‘Run for Unity’, Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry Praveen Kumar Srivastava told reporters. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has written to chief ministers, and ministers of the Union government, to organise the pledge, run for unity and march on the occasion, he said. [caption id=“attachment_1781043” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. PTI[/caption] “The government observes 31 October all over the country as a day of special occasion to foster and reinforce the government’s dedication to preserve and strengthen unity, integrity and security of our nation by celebrating it as a ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel,” Srivastava said. The 1.5 km ‘Run’ in Delhi will start from the National Stadium, where a large number of people, including sports personalities like P V Sindhu, Mitali Raj and Sardar Singh, are expected to take part. The state governments were asked to encourage college and school students to participate in the national unity day events. Srivastava said around 15,000 people had participated in the event in Delhi in 2016 and the number will go up in 2017. 31 October is also the death anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.