Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics & Programme Implementation Vijay Goel, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Arjun Ram Meghwal, presided over the event to celebrate ‘RashtriyaEktaDiwas’ (National Unity Day)organised by Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs here today.This event was introduced by Government of Indiain 2014 to commemorate the birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India.On the occasion, Shri Goeladministered the ‘Pledge of Unity’ to Officers and Staff of the Ministry. He detailed instances from Sardar Patel's lifeand elaborated the vision of a United India after Independence that Sardar Patel held. Shri Goel asked each one present to not merely take the ‘Pledge of Unity’, but strive to assimilate Sardar Patel's ideology, patriotism, leadership skills and commitment to social welfare in their own lives. The Statue of Unity which is being unveiled today, would become a huge tourist attraction and generate a lot of employment opportunities, the Minister added.
Paying his tributes to Sardar Patel on the occasion, ShriMeghwal shed light on role of Sardar Patel in unifying India and his philosophy about Unity and Integrity of the country.Talking about how Shri Vallabhbhai Patel came to be known as ‘Sardar’, Shri Meghwal detailed instances of extraordinary leadership during Bardoli Satyagraha that got Shri Vallabhbhai Patel the title. Further, explaining why the height of the Statue of Unity was 182 meters, Shri Meghwal informed that the Statue is made up of soil and metal from all the parts of the country and the Gujarat Legislative Assembly has 182 members. Hence, the Statue has representation from each part of the country and its citizens, thus making it the ‘Tallest Symbol of Unity’ in the world, he said.The event was also honoured by the presence of Smt. MeenakshiLekhi, MP (Lok Sabha) and Shri Ramesh Bidhuri, MP (Lok Sabha), Shri S.N. Tripathy, Secretary, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, along with senior officers and staff of the Ministry.