Amit Shah Praises Patel, Sets 2029 Drug-Free India Target

Union Home Minister Amit Shah used National Unity Day remarks in Delhi on October 31 to praise Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s role in uniting India and call for a drug-free country by December 31, 2029. Shah spoke after flagging off the Run for Unity, held on Patel’s 151st birth anniversary. Shah said Patel had united the country in 1,218 days after independence, bringing numerous princely states into the Indian Union. He described Patel’s contribution as geographical, political and cultural integration. Those historical assessments were presented as Shah’s remarks at the event. The minister urged people to support the government’s drug-free India target, set for December 31, 2029. He also said that by March 31, India had moved toward becoming free from Naxalism. The reports of his remarks did not provide a measure or geographic scope for that assessment. Shah linked the national unity observance to the government’s commemoration of Patel’s legacy. He said Patel’s birth anniversary had been observed as National Unity Day since Narendra Modi became prime minister. At the event, Shah administered a Unity Pledge to attendees, according to one account. Shah also criticized the...