Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday recalled history when he spoke of how 562 sovereign States across the country were brought together under the flag of the Indian Republic, in a span of 70 days between June 4 and August 15, 1947.
‘Rashtriya Ekta Divas’ heldAn endeavour of this magnitude could have been possible only by someone like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India, as the country’s first Home Minister was popular as. The government’s decision to observe his birth anniversary on October 31 as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Divas’ would provide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of the nation, against threats to its unity, integrity and security, he said.
‘Run for Unity’ flagged offHe garlanded the statue of Sardar Patel opposite the Legislative Assembly early on Friday morning, in the presence of several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and MLAs, before flagging off ‘Run for Unity’. Several hundreds of students and others participated enthusiastically, shouting slogans in praise of India’s unity in diversity.
Briefly addressing the gathering, Mr. Singh said that had someone like Sardar Patel not been there, “we probably would not have been ‘Bharatwaasi’ (citizens of India)”. He also administered a pledge and surprised people by reading it out in Telugu. He said that it was in the best interests of the country to continue remaining together and strengthen the bond of unity to take India to its rightful place in the comity of nations.
BJP MLA K. Laxman kept up a running commentary at the event, giving the gathering glimpses of history to motivate them.
A host of senior BJP leaders, including Member of Parliament Bandaru Dattatreya and MLAs G. Kishan Reddy (also the party’s Telangana State unit president) N.V.S.S. Prabhakar, Chintala Ramachandra Reddy and Raja Singh were present, apart from party’s national general secretary Muralidhar Rao.
