ગુજરાતી
English
Gujarat Minister Vijay Rupani started the Ekta Yatra from Bardoli in
south Gujarat to create awareness about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contribution in
integrating 562 princely states under the fold of Union of India at the time of Independence
amidst chanting of slogans of ‘Ek Bharat; Shreshtha Bharat (One India; Best India).
This is in the run-up to unveiling the Statue of Unity by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31, 2018. The Ekta Yatra is scheduled to cover
10,000 villages of the state to cover all sections of the populace irrespective of their caste,
creed or community group, while 60 Ekta Raths (chariots) will tour 5,000 villages in phase-
The Statue of Unity has been built near Kevadia downstream the Sardar Sarovar Project
(SSP) dam on the Narmada, touted to be the world’s highest statue. Bardoli was the place
wherefrom Sardar Patel had launched Satyagraha (civil disobedience) in 1928 against the
British government increasing tax by 30 per cent.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rupani said the Ekta Yatra has been taken up ‘in the larger
interest of the nation’. It was Sardar Patel who had counselled and persuaded the princes
to join India at the time of partition. Had there been no Sardar Patel, India’s map would
have looked different, forcing Indians to seek visa for visiting Junagadh and Hyderabad.
Sardar Patel had many more singular contributions, including refurbishing the Somnath
Temple, rising above the politics of appeasement for cultural integration.
He said it is the government’s duty to convey the great leaders’ contributions to the people.
He exuded confidence that Sardar Patel’s messages would reach every home during Ekta
Yatra. He criticised the previous governments’ attempt to praise only one family-dynasty
and delete chapters on national leaders like Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Dr Ambedkar and Veer
Savarkar from history.
Mr. Rupani said the government’s Suryashakti Kisan Yojna (SKY), enabling farmers to sell
surplus solar power to the electricity grid, has also been launched from Bardoli. He listed
other schemes and initiatives taken by the BJP Government in the interest of the farmers,
such as buying sugarcane from the month of November itself, total government purchases
amounting to Rs.6,000-crore.
Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Ishwarbhsi Parmar, Forest & Tribal Development
Minister Ganpatsinh Vasava and Energy Minister Saurabhbahi Patel also spoke on the
occasion.
Those present on the occasion included Member of Parliament C.R. Patil, Prabhu Vasava,
Darshanaben Jardosh, District Panchayat President pritiben Patel, MLAs of south Gujarat,
office-bearers, dignitaries and farmers.
