PM Modi, President Murmu, VP and Amit Shah pay tributes to Sardar Patel

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and a host of dignitaries on Tuesday offered floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary.

PM Modi paid tributes to Sardar Patel remembering his visionary statesmanship and the extraordinary dedication with "which he shaped the destiny of our nation".

"On the Jayanti of Sardar Patel, we remember his indomitable spirit, visionary statesmanship and the extraordinary dedication with which he shaped the destiny of our nation," he said on X.

"His commitment to national integration continues to guide us. We are forever indebted to his service," he added.

Born in Gujarat in 1875, Patel was a lawyer and emerged as a leading Congress leader and associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the independence struggle.

As the first home minister of the independent India, he is credited with uniting hundreds of princely states into the Union with his mix of persuasion and firmness.

At a special function held at capital's Patel Chowk, the President, Dhankhar, Shah and others paid floral tributes at the statue of India's first home minister on his birth anniversary, which is observed as 'Rashtriya Ekta Divas'.

In a post on 'X', Shah said unity and prosperity of India was the sole aim of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's life.

Shah said with his rock-solid will power, political wisdom and hard work, Patel had worked to make India then divided into more than 550 princely states a united nation.

"Sardar Saheb's dedicated life to the nation and nation-building work as the country's first Home Minister will always inspire us. Tributes to Iron Man Sardar Patel on his birth anniversary and best wishes to all the countrymen on Rashtriya Ekta Divas," he wrote on 'X' in Hindi.

Those who attended the event at Patel Chowk include Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi among many others.