Patna: A state-level ceremony was held in the capital, Patna, on Saturday to mark the birth anniversary of the country’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna recipient, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. At the event, held at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue complex at Patel Chowk near Chitkohra Bridge, Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary paid tribute by garlanding the life-sized statue of the leader.
On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Dr. Prem Kumar, Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Dr. Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Cooperation Minister Ramkripal Yadav, Minister of Science, Technology and Technical Education Sheela Kumari, Disaster Management Minister Ratnesh Sada, and Minister for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Lakhendra Kumar Raushan also paid their respects by garlanding the statue of Sardar Patel.
Others who paid floral tributes to Sardar Patel included MLAs Shyam Rajak, Sanjeev Chaurasia, and Sanjay Kumar; the Chairman of the Bihar State Farmers’ Commission, Rupanarayan Mehta; former Legislative Council member Kumud Verma; and various other social and political activists.
During the state-level ceremony, artists from the Information and Public Relations Department presented devotional songs (*bhajans* and *kirtans*), the national song, the national anthem, the Bihar state song, and various patriotic songs, creating an atmosphere filled with a spirit of patriotism at the venue.
It is noteworthy that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the nation’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, played a pivotal role in the freedom struggle and made a historic contribution to the integration of the princely states following independence. In recognition of his efforts to strengthen national unity and integrity, his birth anniversary—October 31st—is observed annually as ‘National Unity Day’ (*Rashtriya Ekta Diwas*).
