PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

In his Twitter message, Modi said, "A humble tribute to the iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the pioneer of national unity and integrity, on his birth anniversary."

Sardar Patel's birth anniversary is celebrated across the country as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) since 2014.

PM Modi, whose two-day Gujarat visit started on Friday, reached the Statue of Unity at Kevadiya in Narmada district this morning and offered flowers at the feet of the monument of Sardar Patel.

Born in 1875, Sardar Patel was an Indian barrister and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, who played a leading role in the country's struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation.

In India and elsewhere, he was often called Sardar, meaning "chief" in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian. He acted as Home Minister during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

After Independence, Patel persuaded almost every princely state to accede to India. His commitment to national integration in the newly independent country was total and uncompromising, earning him the sobriquet "Iron Man of India".