My colleagues from police department, NCC cadets, artists, school students, brothers and sisters from across the country participating in the Run for Unity at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, other dignitaries and countrymen!

I am in Ekta Nagar, but my mind is with the victims of Morbi. Rarely have I experienced such pain in my life. On one side is the heart full of pain and on the other side is the path of Karma and Duty. I am amongst you as part of my responsibilities towards the path of duty. But my mind is with those suffering families.

I express my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the mishap. The government is with the bereaved families in every way in this hour of grief. The Gujarat government is engaged in relief and rescue operations with full force since last evening. The Central government is also providing all help to the state government. NDRF teams have been deployed in the rescue work. The personnel of Army and Air Force are also engaged in relief work. People who are undergoing treatment in the hospitals are also being looked after. Priority is being given to minimize the problems of the people. The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai, reached Morbi at last night only after receiving the news of the mishap. Since yesterday, he is overseeing the relief and rescue operations. A committee has also been formed by the state government to investigate the incident. I assure the people of the country that there will be no let-up in the relief and rescue operations. The ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ (National Unity Day) today is also inspiring us to face this difficult time unitedly and remain on the path of duty. Taking lessons from Sardar Patel's patience and promptness in the most difficult situations, we continued to work and will continue to do so in the future also.

Friends,

The ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ in the year 2022 is a very special occasion. This is the year when we have completed 75 years of our independence. We are moving ahead with new resolutions. The parade in Ekta Nagar today is also realizing us that when everyone walks together and moves forward together, then the impossible can be made possible. Today some artists from all over the country were about to perform various cultural programs. They were also supposed to showcase various dances of India. But yesterday's incident was so tragic that it was dropped from today's program. I can understand the pain of all those artists who worked hard and came here but they did not get an opportunity to perform, but the situation is as such.

Friends,

This solidarity and discipline is necessary at every level of family, society, village, state and country. And today we can see this in every corner of the country. Today, 75,000 runs for unity are being organized across the country and lakhs of people are participating in them. The people of the country are taking inspiration from the determination of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Today, the people of the country are taking a pledge for the unity and integrity of the nation in order to awaken the 'Panch Pranas' (five pledges) of the ‘Amrit Kaal’.

Friends,

The occasion of ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ from this land of Ekta Nagar in Kevadia and the Statue of Unity constantly remind us of what would have happened if India did not have leadership like Sardar Patel at the time of independence? What would have happened had more than 550 princely states not been united? What would have happened if most of our princely states did not manifest the culmination of sacrifice and did not express faith in Maa Bharati? We could not even imagine the kind of India we see today. This difficult and impossible task was accomplished only and only by Sardar Patel.

Friends,

Sardar Saheb's birth anniversary and ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ are not just occasions for us. It is also a great festival of the cultural potential of India. Unity has never been a compulsion for India. Unity has always been the specialty of India. The sense of unity is so deeply embedded in the mind of India, in our inner soul, that we often do not realize this quality and sometimes it gets lost. But you see, whenever any natural calamity strikes the country, the whole country stands together. It does not matter whether the disaster happens in the north or in the south, in the east or in the west. The whole of India stands united with service, cooperation and compassion. Look, what happened yesterday. The mishap happened in Morbi, but every countryman is praying for the safety of the victims. Local people were themselves coming forward for all possible help, whether in hospitals or at the site of the accident. That is the power of unity. We also have a huge example of Corona in front of us. From the emotional solidarity of clapping to the support of ration, medicine and vaccines, the country surged like a family. When India's army shows valor on the border or across the border, the whole country has the same emotion and spirit. When the youth of India raise the glory of the tricolor in the Olympics, the whole country celebrates the same. When the country wins a cricket match, there is the same passion across the country. We have different cultural methods of celebration, but the spirit is the same. This unity, solidarity and affinity for each other shows how deep are the roots of India as a nation.

And friends,

This unity of India rattles our enemies. Not from today, but hundreds of years ago even in the long period of slavery, the unity of India has unnerved our enemies. Therefore, all the foreign invaders who came to our country during the hundreds of years of slavery did everything possible to create divide in India. They did everything to divide and break India. Yet we could face them, because the nectar of unity was alive within us and was flowing like a stream. But that period was long. The country is still suffering from that poisonous era. We have seen the partition and also saw the enemies of India taking advantage of it. That's why we have to be very careful today too! Like in the past, the forces which were upset with India's rise still exist today. Such forces make every effort to break and divide us even today. Various narratives are created to embroil us in the name of castes. Attempts are being made to divide us in the name of provinces. Sometimes campaigns are run to make one Indian language the enemy of another Indian language. History is also presented in such a way that the people of the country do not remain united but maintain a distance towards each other.

And brothers and sisters,

We need to keep in mind one more thing. It is not necessary that the forces that weaken the country would always present themselves as our direct enemy. Many times, this force gets housed within us in the form of slave mentality. Sometimes this force takes undue advantage of our personal interests. Sometimes it resorts to appeasement, dynasty, greed and corruption to divide and weaken the country. But we have to answer them. We have to answer them as a child of Mother India. We have to answer them as an Indian. We have to be together and united. We have to answer the poison of discrimination with this nectar of unity. This is the strength of New India.

Friends,

Today I want to reiterate the responsibility assigned to us by Sardar Saheb on the occasion of ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’. He had also given us the responsibility to strengthen the unity of the country and strengthen the country as a nation. This unity will be strengthened when every citizen will discharge this responsibility with an equal sense of duty. Today, the country is moving ahead on the path of development with the same sense of duty by following the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas'. Today uniform policies are available in every corner, every village, to every section and to every person without any discrimination in the country. Today, if the common human being is getting free vaccines in Surat in Gujarat, then free vaccines are equally available in Siang of Arunachal. Today if AIIMS is in Gorakhpur, then it is also in Bilaspur, Darbhanga, Guwahati, Rajkot and other cities of the country. Today, on the one hand, the Defence Corridor is being built in Tamil Nadu then the Defence Corridor is progressing rapidly in Uttar Pradesh as well. Today, if food is being cooked in a kitchen in the North East or in any “Samayal-Arai” in Tamil Nadu, the language may be different, the food may be different, but the Ujjwala cylinder that liberates mothers and sisters from smoke is everywhere. The intention of all our policies is the same -- reaching the last man in the row of society, connecting him with the mainstream of development.

Friends,

Millions of people of our country have waited a long time for even their basic needs. The lesser the gap in basic facilities, the stronger will be the unity. Therefore, the country is working on the principle of saturation. The goal is that the benefit of every scheme should reach every beneficiary. Therefore, today many such campaigns are being run like Housing for All, Digital Connectivity for All, Clean Cooking for All, Electricity for All, etc. Today this mission of reaching 100% citizens is not just a mission of ensuring equal facilities. This mission is also a mission of united goal, united development and united effort. Today, 100% coverage for the basic necessities of life is becoming a medium for the common man's faith in the country and the Constitution. It is becoming a medium for the confidence of common man. This is the vision of Sardar Patel's India where every Indian will have equal opportunities and there will be a sense of equality. Today the country is realizing that vision.

Friends,

In the last eight years, the country has given priority to every section of the society which was neglected for decades. Therefore, the country began the tradition of celebrating ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas’ (Tribal Pride Day) to remember the glory of the tribal communities. Museums are also being built in many states of the country to highlight their role in the tribal freedom struggle. Tomorrow I am going to Mangarh and after that I will also go to Jambughoda. I urge the countrymen to know the history of Mangarh Dham and Jambughoda also. It is very important for today's young generation to know how we got freedom in the face of so many massacres by foreign invaders. Only then will we be able to understand the value of freedom and solidarity.

Friends,

There is a saying in our country:

ऐक्यं बलं समाजस्य तद्भावे स दुर्बलः। तस्मात् ऐक्यं प्रशंसन्ति दृढं राष्ट्र हितैषिणः॥

That is, the strength of any society lies in its unity. Therefore, the well-wishers of a strong nation admire this spirit of unity and strive for it. Therefore, the unity and solidarity of the country is our collective responsibility. Ekta Nagar is developing as such a model city of India which will be unprecedented not only in the country but in the whole world. Ekta Nagar, which is developing with the unity of the people and their participation, is becoming grand as well as divine today. The world's largest statue in the form of the Statue of Unity is with us as an inspiration. In future, Ekta Nagar is going to be one such city in India which will be unprecedented and also incredible. Whenever there would be mention of a model city protecting the environment in the country, Ekta Nagar would be at the front. People would talk about Ekta Nagar whenever there is mention of a model city illuminated with electricity saving LEDs. When it comes to solar powered clean transport system in the country, the name of Ekta Nagar will come first. When it comes to the conservation of animals and birds of different species, then the name of Ekta Nagar will come first. Just yesterday I have had the opportunity to inaugurate the Miyawaki Forest and Maze Garden here. Initiatives like the Ekta Mall, Ekta Nursery, Vishwa Van showing unity in diversity, Ekta Ferry, Ekta Railway Station, etc are an inspiration to strengthen national unity. Now another star is also going to be added to Ekta Nagar. Today I want to tell you about this also. You just heard the words of Sardar Saheb. We are reflecting that sentiment in our endeavour.  The kings and princes of the country had also contributed a lot in the role played by Sardar Saheb in the unification of the country after independence. The royal families, which held power for centuries, dutifully surrendered their rights in a new system for the unity of the country. Their contribution has been neglected for decades after independence. Now a museum will be built in Ekta Nagar dedicated to the sacrifice of those royal families and princely states. This will pass on the tradition of sacrifice for the unity of the country to the new generations, and I am also grateful to the Gujarat government as it has completed a lot of groundwork in this direction. I am sure the inspiration of Sardar Saheb will guide all of us continuously to strengthen the national unity. Together we will fulfill the dream of a strong India. With this belief, I urge you to utter ‘Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe’ after I say ‘Sardar Patel’.

Sardar Patel – Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe!

Sardar Patel – Amar Rahe, Amar Rahe!

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

Bharat Mata ki – Jai!

Thanks a lot.

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/VJ/VK/AK