Patel’s Role in India’s Unity Will Always Be Remembered/ Tikshan Sood

 Patel’s Role in India’s Unity Will Always Be Remembered/ Tikshan Sood

**Hoshiarpur/ Oct 31/Daljeet Ajnoha 

Former Cabinet Minister and senior BJP leader Tikshan Sood, in a press statement issued on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, paid rich tributes to the great freedom fighter and India’s first Home Minister. He described Patel as the architect of national integration whose vision Android determination laid the foundation of a united India after Independence.Sood said that when the British left India, they allowed the princely states and rulers the freedom to decide whether or not to accede to the Indian Union. It was Sardar Patel’s foresight and firm resolve, he noted, that enabled the successful integration of nearly 560 princely states, thereby strengthening the newly independent nation.He added that Patel was also working towards the complete accession of Jammu and Kashmir, but the process was halted by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru—a decision, Sud remarked, whose impact continues to affect the country.Criticising the Congress leadership, Sud said the Gandhi–Nehru family failed to accord Sardar Patel the recognition he rightfully deserved after his death. In contrast, he appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for restoring Patel’s legacy by erecting the Statue of Unity and initiating the nationwide “Run for Unity” events to convey his message of oneness to future generations. Sood described these efforts as a fitting tribute from a grateful nation to one of its greatest leaders.