The ‘Run for Unity’ programme organised in all districts of Haryana on Thursday on the occasion of 144th birth anniversary of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel saw the participation of over one lakh people
Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar participated in the State Level Function organized on this occasion at Panchkula while Deputy Chief Minister, Dushyant Chautala participated in the function at Gurugram.
An official release said maximum 9500 participants took part in the Run for Unity programme in district Panipat followed by 7000 participants in district Gurugram, 6500 in Kurukshetra, 6300 in Hisar, 6000 in Karnal, 5500 in Rohtak, 5000 each in Ambala, Narnaul, Sonipat, Fatehabad and Yamunanagar, 4,000 each in Jhajjar and Kaithal, 3000 in Sirsa, 5,500 in Faridabad, 3500 in Jind, 2,800 in Nuh, 2,600 in Panchkula, 2000 in Palwal, 1800 in Rewari, 5500 in Bhiwani, 1500 in Charkhi Dadri and 1100 in Hansi.
Describing the unity and integrity of the country as Supreme, the Chief Minister said that country occupies foremost place for all of us and everything else later.
Addressing the gathering at “Run for Unity†programme, Khattar said that October 31 is being celebrated as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Divas’ for the last five years. He said Sardar Patel has played a vital role in the integration of 562 princely states after the independence of the country. He said that the merger of three princely states remained incomplete after the independence out of which Sardar Patel had been successful in the merger of two princely states of Hyderabad and Junagarh as a result of his strong determination.
"It is a matter of great happiness that Jammu and Kashmir, which was not fully integrated with the Indian Union 70 years ago...but our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah took the decision to scrap Article 370 and completed that remaining task. Sardar Patel''s dream has been fulfilled," said Khattar.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also administered pledge of national unity and integrity of the country to youth, students of schools and colleges, sportsperson, personnel of ITBP and Haryana Police and residents of Panchkula. He also flagged off Run for Unity and also participated in the run.
Speaking at an event organised in Gurugram on National Unity Day, Haryana''s Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala also talked about the Patel''s role in integration of the princely states. The 31-year-old JJP leader said, "All of us, especially the youth, should take inspiration from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel". "Youth are the future of this country and they should dedicate themselves to preserve the unity, integrity and security of this nation," he said.
A ''Run for Unity'' event in Chandigarh was flagged off by Punjab Governor and Administrator, U.T., Chandigarh, V P Singh Badnore at Sukhna Lake. The governor administered the pledge to the gathering and later participated in the run.
