LUCKNOW: Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 137 birth anniversary, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that the former was the architect of Republic India as Dr B R Ambedkar was of Constitution.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Mr Adityanath paid floral tributes to Sardar Patel, flagged off ' Run For Unity', administered oath to the youths and people to serve the nation for the unity and integrity.
The Chief Minister said that people taking oath of country's unity and integrity should follow the path shown by Sardar Patel and work to serve the nation.
Both the dignitaries also garlanded the statue of Iron man Sardar Patel at Hazratganj here and inaugurated a photo exhibition on Patel.
They also took the salute at an impressive parade by the school children and security personnel in front of the Vidhan Sabha.
The Governor, while addressing a function, said, ''Sardar Patel was a symbol of unity of the country.
The world's tallest statue of unity, inaugurated in Gujarat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, was constructed with scrap iron and other materials collected from all over the country.
"We can say that UP too has contributed in the construction of the statue," he said.
"Several smaller states were not ready to join the country after Independence but it was only the effort of Sardar Patel that they joined and now the country has turned into a powerful nation of the world," Mr Naik said.
The march-past started from Vidhan Bhawan and ended at the Sikander Bagh while the 'Run for Unity' began from Vidhan Sabha and culminated at the K D Singh Babu Stadium.