Amit Shah attends Rashtriya Ekta Diwas function at Statue of Unity, Kevadia

Ahmedabad, Oct 30: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' function to be held at the Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Gujarat's Narmada district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the function through a recorded video message, said a release from the Press Information Bureau.

Since the 2018 inauguration of the 182-metre memorial, the tallest such structure in the world, constructed in memory of Sardar Patel, Modi has attended all three functions till 2020, but will be unable to do so this year as he is in Rome in Italy for the G-20 summit. Shah will begin the day by offering floral tributes at the statue, and then preside over a parade in which paramilitary and Gujarat police personnel will take part, an official of the Statue of Unity Authority said.

As per the PIB release, 75 cyclists from ITBP, SSB, CISF, CRPF and BSF, who have traveled around 9,000 kilometres from various parts of the country, and 101 motorcyclists from the police forces of Tripura, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Gujarat, who have traveled to Kevadia after covering around 9,200 kms, will also take part in the parade.

"Twenty-three medal winners in Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games, including Manpreet Singh, the captain of our bronze winning men's hockey team at the recent Tokyo Olympics, will be participating.

There will be a joint band of ITBP and Gujarat police," the release said. "There will also be a cultural event in which teams from Odisha and Gujarat will perform along with Wushu, a form of martial art. The ITBP team will also demonstrate its skill in dismantling and reassembling a vehicle," an SOU official said.

The Government, in 2014. decided to observe the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on October 31 as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' (National Unity Day), to "provide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity, integrity and security of our country."