President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu paid tributes to Iron man Sardar Patel on his 142nd birth anniversary.

 President Kovind memorized Patel as “India’s Man of Iron, of Integrity and of Integration” writing in a tweet he posted after paying floral tributes at Patel Chowk.

 Vice President Naidu also paid floral tributes to  Sardar Patel, credited him as for the ensuring integration of the nation post Independence.

Born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, a poorer village in Gujarat, Sardar Patel became the first deputy prime minister of India. He died on December 15, 1950.

universally known as the Iron Man of India,  Sardar Patel was bestowed with the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, in 1991 for his services to the nation.

Earlier, Modi flagged off a run to celebrated Sardar Patel’s142nd birth anniversary.

The Run for Unity, which started from the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, saw the involvement of a huge number of people, including sports personalities like Sardar Singh, Deepa Karmakar, Suresh Raina and Karnam Malleswari.

Sardar Patel’s “momentous service and monumental contribution to India can never be forgotten”, PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister said everyone in the nation proud of Patel’s contribution to India before it achieved freedom and during the early years after the nation became self-governing.