PM, Advani pay tribute to Vallabhbhai Patel
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations at the Statue of Unity, commemorating Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary with a unity pledge and parade.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the iconic Statue of Unity in Gujarat on the birth anniversary of the country's first home minister.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP-RSS of carrying out a "well-planned conspiracy" against national heroes and said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's ideology was contrary to the RSS' ideas. He defended the relationship between Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru, saying they were "two sides of the same coin". He also criticized the BJP-RSS for their alleged attempts to appropriate the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh claimed Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to build the Babri Masjid using public funds, but Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel prevented it. He also lauded Patel's contributions and criticized Nehru's approach to national issues.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday said that in his personal opinion, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh should be banned as most law and order problems in the country are arising because of the Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the Centre's key counsel in defending the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, said on Monday the Supreme Court verdict upholding the government's August 5, 2019, decision will go down in history as the one that corrected a "Himalayan constitutional blunder" of gigantic proportions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a sharp attack on country's first premier Jawaharlal Nehru, claiming he prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union.
Prime Minister Narendra D Modi on Tuesday paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat's Narmada on the birth anniversary of the country's first home minister which is celebrated as National Unity Day. In New Delhi, Congress MPs Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi paid homage to Indira Gandhi on the 39th anniversary of the late prime minister's assassination.
The Union home minister said that on November 15, a grand celebration will be held at the 'Statue of Unity' to mark the birth anniversary of tribal icon Birsa Munda.
The rising tide of Indian nationalism meant that the people of princely states now were keen to become a part of a united and integrated India rather than remain subjects of a princely state. The Congress too supported the people's wish and it fell upon Patel to get the princes to agree. He did so magnificently, using every trick available, whether it was sweet talk or coercion; the rulers buckled and Patel earned the eternal gratitude of the entire nation.
A series of events were held across the country to mark the day and government officials, security personnel and others took a pledge 'to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message'.
Take Kashmir but don't talk of Hyderabad, Soz claimed Patel told the then Pak PM.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the government's handling of the women's quota bill, accusing them of political maneuvering and neglecting the rights of OBCs.
Sardar Patel's birth anniversary is being celebrated as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' (National Unity Day) since 2014.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met those injured in the Air India plane crash at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad.
In an interview to rediff.com, Neerja Singh, author of the book Nehru-Patel: Agreement within Difference, argues that both Nehru and Sardar Patel possessed very different personalities and temperaments, yet both were deeply secular
Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday failed to show up at the Central Hall in Parliament to pay tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the occasion of the birth anniversary of India's first home minister. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Speaker Meira Kumar and innumerable Union ministers were present at the function. A senior BJP leader admitted that the absence of the party's Members of Parliament at the function was a lapse on their part.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the 'Run for Unity' in New Delhi on Friday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is being commemorated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
In view of increased threat along maritime border with Pakistan, Navy will commission a new base near Porbandar in Gujarat to strengthen surveillance and security apparatus in the region.
Rajnath Singh, under whose stewardship the Bharatiya Janata Party has stormed to power with its highest-ever tally, took charge as the Union home minister.
The Congress party launched a scathing attack on the RSS on its 100th anniversary, citing excerpts from a book claiming Mahatma Gandhi described the Sangh as a "communal body with a totalitarian outlook." The party also referenced Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's criticism of the RSS.
He also said that although India got independence much before Goa became free, people of the country could not enjoy at that time as they felt uneasy thinking that one part was the country was still under foreign rule.
In a video shared by officials, Modi, wearing a BSF uniform, can be seen offering sweets to the personnel on board a patrol vessel.
Some people were so great, Modi said, that attempts were made to make their contributions forgotten for 70 years but these met with no success.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a country-wide marathon to be organised on October 31 to celebrate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a Union Minister said on Wednesday.
Former Civil Aviation Minister and senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Wednesday questioned the "silence" of Singapore Airlines over the horrific crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad last week.
The Narender Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Gujarat had banned Jaswant's book alleging that it defamed the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party battle it out over the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari hit out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying the United Progressive Alliance's record in issuing advertisements to commemorate Patel was far better than that of its rival National Democratic Alliance.
The Manmohan Singh government has been speaking in far too many voices for some time now. Debate should not degenerate into cacophony, dissent need not turn into turf battles. Perhaps the time has come for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to once again assert his authority. He has been excessively accommodative of ministerial dissidents. May be it's time he cracked the whip.
Amid a controversy over the cricket stadium in Ahmedabad being renamed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government on Wednesday said the name change involves only the Motera stadium and the entire sports complex continues to be named after Sardar Patel.
Farmers of Gujarat will drag Bharatiya Janata Party leaders out of their houses and thrash them mercilessly if police were to be removed for a day, Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said some forces in and outside India are trying to destabilise the country and spread anarchy to create a negative image of the nation in the world.
The giant statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel is most impressive and a trip to the viewing gallery on top is the high point of a trip to Kevadia, Gujarat.
Authorities are carrying out DNA tests to establish the identity of the victims as many bodies were charred beyond recognition or badly damaged in the deadly June 12 crash.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday declined Narendra Modi's invitation for an event on Sardar Patel, suggesting that the Gujarat chief minister's motives were not sincere and the name of the great leader was being misused for partisan political agenda.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has stated that Naxalism, currently confined to just four districts in India, will be completely eradicated by March 31, 2026. He emphasized the crucial role of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), particularly its CoBRA battalion, in achieving this goal. Shah lauded the CRPF's contributions to national security, highlighting their efforts in combating terrorism in Kashmir, maintaining peace in the Northeast, and significantly reducing Naxal violence. He also paid tribute to the CRPF's sacrifices, acknowledging the loss of 2,264 personnel in the line of duty.
The Air India plane AI-171 from Ahmedabad to London crashed immediately after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Ahmedabad airport on Thursday, as per the Gujarat State Police Control Room.
Dr Singh and Modi will share the stage at a function to inaugurate a museum dedicated to Vallabhbhai Patel's life. The function has been organised by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Society, whose chairman is the Union minister of state for mines, Dinsha Patel.
Kash Patel, the first Indian-American to head the FBI, has traced his roots to Bhadran village in Gujarat's Anand district. Patel's family migrated to Uganda 70 to 80 years ago, before selling their ancestral houses and moving to foreign countries. Patel was born in New York and is a trained lawyer who is an ice-hockey fan.
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