New Delhi:
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the ‘Run for Unity’ on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which is being commemorated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
Modi will pay floral tributes at the statue of independent India’s first home minister at Patel Chowk, Parliament Street, at 7.30 A.M. and thereafter address the participants of the ‘Run for Unity’ at Vijay Chowk at 7.40 A.M.
He will then administer the Unity Pledge at 8 A.M. The run from Vijay Chowk to India Gate on Rajpath will be flagged off at 8.15 A.M., Home Ministry said in a statement here.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will attend a function at the Sardar Patel Statue in Nampally, Hyderabad, in the morning. He will then attend the passing out parade of Indian Police Service officers at the Hyderabad-based Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy.
The government had announced that it would observe the birth anniversary of Patel on Oct. 31 every year as National Unity Day as a tribute to his efforts to unite India.
However, Modi govt’s decision has come under fire from its major opponent Congress as Oct 31 is also the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi.
Congress on Thursday attacked the Narendra Modi government for “ignoring the martyrdom” of Indira Gandhi, whose death anniversary falls on October 31.
“Disgraceful that Govt is ignoring the martyrdom of our only Prime Minister who was killed in office in the line of duty. Oct 31 forgotten?” Tharoor said on micro blogging site Twitter.
The Modi government has declared 31 October as “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” (National Unity Day) to mark the birth anniversary of country’s first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. There was no mention of Indira Gandhi in the government announcement though it is also the death anniversary of the former Prime Minister who was shot dead by her bodyguards in 1984.
The government has also decided that it will associate only with the birth and death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The anniversaries of other departed leaders may be observed by respective trusts, parties, societies or supporters. It has also decided not to convert government bungalows into memorials.
The Congress had sacked Tharoor as its national spokesperson a fortnight back. His removal had come after the Kerala unit of the Congress took strong objection to his continuous effusive praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded that the high command take appropriate action against him.
Tharoor, party MP from Thiruvanathapuram, had come under severe attack from Kerala Congress leaders after he said he felt “honoured” to accept Prime Minister Modi’s invitation to join the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Many leaders went on to openly demand disciplinary action against him. Later the KPCC officially asked the high command to take appropriate action against him.
The KPCC’s argument was that Tharoor had been repeatedly praising Modi. Days after Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister, Tharoor said his comments so far has been “very conciliatory and inclusive”.
Later, he suggested Modi has evolved into Modi 2.0 and argued that the Congress should not be “churlish” to ignore his inclusive outreach.
