Union minister flags off ‘Unity March’ in Kathua

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today flagged off the inaugural ‘Unity March—Ek Bharat, Akhand Bharat’ in Kathua on Thursday as part of the nationwide initiative honouring the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Dr Jitendra Singh was joined by a large number of students, NCC cadets, public representatives and local people during the march which began from Dreamland Park and culminated in the premises of Government Degree College (GMC). The march was aimed at awakening the spirit of unity, patriotism and duty among the youth.

Addressing a press conference after the culmination of the march at Degree College Kathua, Dr Jitendra Singh said that had Sardar Patel been given a free hand, the issue of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (POJK) would not have arisen and the history of J&K, indeed that of India, would have been different.

He said, “The then PM Jawaharlal Nehru not allowing Patel to handle J&K the same way as he was handling other princely states of the country led to the creation of PoJK. And when the Indian forces were about to retrieve the part of J&K captured by Pakistan, Nehru without consulting Patel or other cabinet colleagues, went to the radio and declared unilateral ceasefire,” he added.

Hailing Sardar Patel for integrating more than 560 odd princely states into Indian union, Dr Singh stated that Patel and Dr Syama Prasad Mokherjee are the most underrated leaders of Independent India. He said it was due to the timely intervention of Sardar Patel that the armed forces were deployed to repel the tribal raid on Kashmir valley, “Otherwise, the city of Srinagar might have also fallen to the tribal raiders” Singh said.