I will say Sardar Patel, and you all will say Amar Rahein, Amar Rahein.

Sardar Patel -Amar Rahein, Amar Rahein. 

Sardar Patel – Amar Rahein, Amar Rahein. 

Sardar Patel – Amar Rahein, Amar Rahein.

The historic occasion of Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary, this divine morning in Ektanagar, this panoramic view, our presence at the feet of Sardar Saheb, today we are all witnessing a great moment. The Run for Unity being held across the country, the enthusiasm of crores of Indians, we are directly experiencing the resolve of the new India. The programmes that took place here recently, including the wonderful presentation that took place yesterday evening, had the tradition of the past, the hard work and bravery of the present, and also a glimpse of the achievements of the future. To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Saheb, a commemorative coin and a special postage stamp have also been issued. I extend my heartiest greetings and best wishes to all 140 crore countrymen on the birth anniversary of Sardar Saheb and Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day).

Friends, 

Sardar Patel believed that time should not be wasted in writing history, we should work hard to create history. This sentiment is reflected in his biography. The policies made by Sardar Saheb, the decisions he took, created a new history, made a new history. After independence, he made the impossible task of uniting more than five hundred and fifty princely states possible. The idea of one India – a great India (Ek Bharat- Shreshth Bharat) was paramount for him. That is why today, Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, has naturally become a grand festival of national unity. Just as we 140 crore countrymen celebrate Independence Day on 15th August and Republic Day on 26th January, similarly the importance of Unity Day is a moment of inspiration and pride for us. Today crores of people have taken the oath of unity, we have resolved that we will promote such works which will strengthen the unity of the country. Here in Ekta Nagar itself, Ekta Mall and Ekta Garden are seen strengthening the thread of unity.

Friends, 

Every citizen must stay away from anything that weakens the nation's unity. This is a national duty; this is a true tribute to Sardar Saheb. This is what the country needs today, this is the message and also the resolution of Unity Day for every Indian.

Friends, 

Sardar Saheb placed the sovereignty of the country above everything else, but unfortunately, in the years following Sardar Saheb's demise, the then governments were not as serious about the sovereignty of the country. On the one hand, the mistakes made in Kashmir, on the other hand, the problems arising in the North-East and the Naxalite-Maoist terrorism that flourished at various places across the country, these were direct challenges to the sovereignty of the country. However, instead of following Sardar Sahib's policies, the governments of that era chose a spineless approach. The country suffered the consequences of this in the form of violence and bloodshed.

Friends, 

Many in today's younger generation may not know that Sardar Sahib wanted the entire Kashmir region to be merged, just as he had merged other princely states. But Nehru ji did not let his wish be fulfilled. Kashmir was divided with a separate constitution and a separate flag!

Friends, 

The country burned in the fire of the mistake that Congress had made on Kashmir for decades. Due to the poor policies of Congress, a part of Kashmir went under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. Pakistan gave impetus to terrorism, State sponsored terrorism.

Friends, 

Kashmir and the country have paid such a heavy price. Yet, Congress has always been submissive to terrorism.

Friends, 

Congress forgot Sardar Saheb's vision, but we did not forget. After 2014, the country once again witnessed his inspiring steely resolve. Today, Kashmir has broken free from the shackles of Article 370 and has fully integrated into the mainstream. Today even Pakistan and the masters of terrorism have come to know what is the real strength of India! The entire world had seen in Operation Sindoor that today, if anyone dares to raise an eyebrow at India, India enters their homes and strikes back. Every time India's response is bigger than before, more decisive than before. This is also a message to the enemies of India, this is the India of Iron Man Sardar Patel, it never compromises on its security and honour.

Friends, 

India's biggest success in the last 11 years regarding national security is breaking the backbone of Naxalism-Maoist terrorism. Before 2014, the situation in our country was such that Naxalites and Maoists ruled within the country, in the heart of the country. The country's Constitution was not enforced in Naxalite areas. The police administration was unable to function there. Naxalites used to openly issue new decrees. They prevented the construction of roads. Schools, colleges and hospitals were blown up with bombs. And the government and administration seemed helpless in the face of them.

Friends, 

After 2014, our government launched a massive attack on Naxalism-Maoist terrorism. We also marginalized urban Naxalite supporters and urban Naxalites. We won the ideological battle and confronted them in their strongholds; the results are before the country today. Before 2014, about 125 districts of the country were under the grip of Maoist terror. Today, this number has declined to only 11. And even in that, Naxalism is still prevalent in some serious manner only in three districts. And today, in the presence of Sardar Patel, from this land of Ekta Nagar, I assure the entire country that until the country is completely free from Naxalism, Maoism and that terror, we are not going to stop, we are not going to sit in peace.

Friends, 

Today, infiltration poses a significant threat to the nation's unity and internal security. Foreign intruders kept coming into the country for decades, they kept occupying the resources of the countrymen, kept disturbing the demographic balance, kept putting the unity of the country at stake, but the previous governments kept turning a blind eye to such a big problem. The nation's security was deliberately jeopardized for vote bank politics. Now for the first time the country has decided to fight a decisive battle against this big threat. I have announced the Demography Mission from the Red Fort.

But friends, 

Now today when we are raising this issue seriously, some people are putting their own interests above the national interest. These people are fighting a political battle to give rights to the infiltrators. They believe that once the country has been divided, it doesn't matter to them if it continues to be divided. Whereas the truth is that if the security and identity of the country is in danger, then every person will be in danger. Therefore, today on National Unity Day, we have to take a pledge again that we will drive out every infiltrator living in India.

Friends, 

When we talk about national unity in a democracy, one of its aspects is that we respect diversity of ideas. Differences of opinion are acceptable in democracy, but there should not be any differences of heart. But look at the irony, after independence, the very people to whom the country entrusted the responsibility, tried to kill the spirit of 'we the people'. They despised every person and organization that was different from their own thinking and ideology and tried to discredit it. Political untouchability was made a culture in the country. We all know what has happened to Sardar Patel and his legacy under Congress governments? What did these people do with Baba Saheb Ambedkar during his lifetime and even after his death? What did they do to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose? Congress did the same to people like Dr. Lohia and Jayaprakash Narayan. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). What kind of attacks and conspiracies were made on the Sangh! Every effort was made to make untouchable every person and every idea that was outside of one party and one family.

Brothers and sisters, 

We are proud that we have ended this political untouchability that was dividing the country. We built the Statue of Unity for Sardar Patel. We built Panchtirtha of Baba Saheb. Baba Saheb's house in Delhi, the place of his Maha Parinirvana, was in a dilapidated condition due to neglect during the Congress era. We have transformed that sacred site into a historical memorial. During the Congress regime, there was a museum in the name of only one former Prime Minister. We have risen above political untouchability and created the PM Museum, dedicated to the contributions of all the Prime Ministers of the country. We awarded the Bharat Ratna to a popular leader like Karpoori Thakur. We also conferred the Bharat Ratna to Pranab Da, who dedicated his entire life to the Congress party. And, we also honoured a leader like Mulayam Singh Yadav ji with opposing ideology with the Padma Award. The idea behind these decisions was to strengthen the spirit of unity for the nation, rising above political differences. We have also seen this glimpse of unity in our all-party delegation that went abroad after Operation Sindoor.

Friends, 

The idea of ​​attacking the unity of the country for political gains is part of the mentality of slavery. Congress not only inherited the party and power from the British, but it also imbibed the mentality of slavery. You see, just after a few days, our national song Vande Mataram is going to complete 150 years. When the British divided Bengal in 1905, Vande Mataram became the voice of every citizen in protest. Vande Mataram became the voice of the unity and solidarity of the country. The British even tried to ban the very idea of ​​saying Vande Mataram. The British were not successful in this attempt! The slogan of Vande Mataram kept echoing from every corner of India. However, the work which the British could not do, was done by the Congress. Congress removed a portion of Vande Mataram on religious grounds. That is, Congress divided the society and also furthered the agenda of the British. And today I am saying one thing with great responsibility - the day Congress decided to break, cut and divide Vande Mataram, on that very day it laid the foundation of the partition of India. If Congress had not committed that sin, the picture of India would have been different today!

Friends, 

Due to such thinking of the people sitting in the government at that time, the country carried the symbols of slavery for so many decades. You remember, the mark of slavery was removed from the flag of our Navy when you gave us the opportunity to serve the country and our government came into power. Rajpath became the Kartavya Path when we made this change. The Cellular Jail in the Andamans, the site of the sacrifices of revolutionaries in the freedom struggle, was granted national monument status only during the Morarji Desai government. Till some time ago, the Andaman Islands were named after the British. We named these after Netaji Subhash. Many islands were named after Param Vir Chakra winners. We also installed a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate.

Friends, 

Even the soldiers who were martyred in the defence of the country did not get the proper respect due to the slave mentality. We immortalised those memories by establishing the National War Memorial. Even in the internal security of the country, 36 thousand soldiers, these soldiers of our police force, the country is not even aware that these khaki-clad people of the police force have sacrificed their lives. 36 thousand martyrs, this figure is not small. Our police, BSF, ITBP, CISF, CRPF, all our paramilitary forces, their bravery was also deprived of respect. It is our government which honoured those martyrs by building a police memorial. Today, standing at the feet of Sardar Patel, I salute all those people across the country who have served by being in the police force, all those people who are serving the country today by being in the police force, I stand at the feet of Sardar Patel, today I salute them, I feel proud of them, I respect them. Today the country is removing every trace of the slave mentality. By honouring those who sacrifice for the country, we are strengthening the spirit of 'Nation First'.

My dear countrymen, 

Unity is the foundation of the existence of a nation and society. As long as there is unity in the society, the integrity of the nation is safe. Therefore, to achieve the goal of a developed India, we have to foil every conspiracy that breaks the unity of the country, we have to foil it with the power of unity. That is why, today the country is continuously working on every front of national unity. This ritual of India's unity has four pillars. The first pillar of unity is cultural unity! It is India's culture that has kept India immortal as a nation, irrespective of political circumstances, for thousands of years. Our twelve Jyotirlingas, seven Puris, four Dhams, more than 50 Shaktipeeths, tradition of pilgrimages, these are the life energy which makes India a conscious nation. Today, we are carrying forward this tradition through events like Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam and Kashi Tamil Sangamam. Through International Yoga Day, we are also giving a new identity to India's great science of Yoga. Today, our yoga is becoming a medium to connect people.

Friends, 

The second pillar of our unity is linguistic unity! India's hundreds of languages and dialects are a symbol of India's open and creative thinking. Because, here no society, power or sect has ever made language its weapon. There has been no attempt to impose a single language. That is why India has become such a rich nation in the world in terms of linguistic diversity. Our languages have strengthened our identity like different notes of music. That is why friends, we consider every language as a national language. We proudly say that India has the world's oldest language, Tamil, and we are proud of it. We have a heritage of knowledge like Sanskrit. Similarly, every Indian language has its own uniqueness, its own literary and cultural wealth. We are promoting every Indian language. We want the children of India to study in their mother tongue and progress. The people of India should also know and learn from other languages ​​of the country. Let languages become the unifier of our unity. And this is not a one-day task. It is an ongoing task, one for which we all must shoulder the responsibility together.

Friends, 

The third pillar of our unity is discrimination-free development! Because poverty and discrimination are the biggest weaknesses in the social fabric. The country's enemies have always exploited these weaknesses. That is why Sardar Saheb wanted to work on a long-term plan for the country against poverty. Sardar Patel once said that if India had gained independence 10 years earlier than in 1947, India would have been free from the crisis of food shortage by 1947. He said that just as he solved the challenge of merging the princely states, he would not stop until he had solved the challenge of food shortage. This was the willpower of Sardar Saheb. To tackle even the biggest challenges, we must demonstrate this willpower. And I am proud that our government is working to fulfill even these unfulfilled resolutions of Sardar Saheb. In the last decade, we have lifted 25 crore countrymen out of poverty. Today crores of poor people are getting houses. Clean water is reaching every home. Free medical care is available. That is, a dignified life for every citizen, this is the mission and vision of the country today. These discrimination and corruption free policies are strengthening national unity today.

Friends, 

The fourth pillar of national unity is – connection of hearts through connectivity. Today, a record number of highways and expressways are being built in the country. Trains like Vande Bharat and Namo Bharat are transforming Indian Railways. Even small cities are now getting connected with airport facilities. This modern infrastructure is completely changing the world's view of India. It has also reduced the distances between north and south, east and west within the country. Today, people are easily traveling to other states for tourism and business. This is a new era of people to people connect and cultural exchange. It is strengthening national unity, and the digital revolution that has taken place has also provided an opportunity to strengthen this unity. Today, digital connectivity is also paving a new path for connecting hearts.

Friends, 

Sardar Patel once said, "I find the greatest happiness when I work for the country." Today I also make the same appeal to every citizen of the country. There can be no greater joy than working for the country. The worship of Mother India is the greatest worship of every citizen of the country. When 140 crore Indians stand together, the rocks themselves give way. When 140 crore countrymen speak in one voice, those words become the proclamation of India's success. We must make this fundamental mantra of unity our resolution. We must not divide; we must not weaken. This is our true tribute to Sardar Saheb. I am confident that together we will strengthen the resolve of 'One India, Best India'. Together we will fulfill the dream of a developed India and a self-reliant India. With this sentiment, I once again pay my tribute at the feet of Sardar Saheb. Say with me - Bharat Mata ki Jai. Friends, this voice must reach every corner of the country.

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Bharat Mata ki Jai!

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Vande Mataram. 

Thank you all very much!

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MJPS/VJ/SS