Rashtriya Ekta Diwas 2019: PM Modi administers 'unity pledge' on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary

Updated: Thursday, October 31, 2019, 12:07 [IST]

Kevadiya, Oct 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to Sardar Patel at the Statue Of Unity here on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on Thursday.

Modi pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhai Patel

"Tributes to the great Sardar Patel on his Jayanti. His contribution to our nation is monumental," he tweeted earlier in the day.

Modi administers 'Pledge of Unity' in Kevadia, Gujarat

On the occasion of National Unity Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi administered the 'unity pledge' after paying tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 144th birth anniversary in Gujarat's Kevadia on Thursday.

Flower petals showered at 'Statue of Unity'

When the prime minister was offering floral tributes to Patel, flower petals were also showered on the world's tallest statue by an Indian Air Force helicopter.

Patel's birth anniversary is celebrated as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas'. During the day, the prime minister will also participate in the "Ekta Diwas Parade", visit a technology demonstration site and interact with civil service probationers at Kevadiya.

Celebrations underway:

Celebrations underway at Statue of Unity in Kevadia on the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel

Ekta Diwas Parade

During the day, the prime minister will also participate in the "Ekta Diwas Parade", visit a technology demonstration site and interact with civil service probationers at Kevadiya. Since 2014, October 31 is observed as the National Unity Day. The 182-metre-tall statue was inaugurated by Modi on the same date last year.

It is on Sardar Patel's birth anniversary that two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh - have come into existence. Jammu and Kashmir has officially been split into two Union Territories nearly three months after the central government scrapped its decades-old special status under Article 370. India's first Home Minister, Sardar Patel is credited for the merger of over 560 princely states into the Union of India.