President, VP, PM pay tributes to Sardar Patel on 145th birth anniversary

New Delhi, Oct 31 (IANS) President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 145th birth anniversary.

The President and officials of Rashtrapati Bhavan paid floral tributes in front of a portrait of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Earlier on Saturday morning, the President visited Sardar Patel Chowk in New Delhi to pay homage before the statue of Sardar Patel.

The Vice President on the occasion said that Sardar Patel is the leader he admired the most.

In a Facebook post, Naidu recalled the great contributions made by Patel and urged the people, particularly the younger generation, to revisit his legacy and remember his unparalleled contribution to building a modern India.

Naidu praised Patel for his monumental achievement of unifying India.

He mentioned how at a critical juncture, Patel used his sagacity, ingenuity, skill, experience and grit to safeguard India's territorial unity and integrity.

"Through meticulous planning, negotiations, counselling, and tactful handling, Patel brought together all the princely states in one of the greatest accomplishments in modern history," Naidu said.

Mentioning the creation of the All India Civil Services, the Vice President said that it was another illustrious contribution made by Sardar Patel.

The Vice President mentioned that Patel earned the reputation of 'Iron Man' because of the manner in which he brought about and maintained internal stability as the Home Minister in the wake of the partition of the country.

Prime Minister Modi, who visited Gujarat, paid floral tributes to Patel at the 182-meter tall Statue of Unity there on Saturday.

Sardar Patel's birth anniversary is being celebrated as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' (National Unity Day) since 2014.

Modi, whose two-day Gujarat visit started on Friday, reached the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Narmada district in the morning and offered flowers at the feet of the monument of Sardar Patel.

Earlier, Modi took to Twitter to pay homage to Patel, saying "humble tributes to the Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the pioneer of national unity and integrity, on his birth anniversary".

Born on October 31, 1875 in Nadiad in Gujarat, Patel breathed his last on December 15, 1950 in Mumbai.