Home minister’s office sends letter urging ministers to visit states and provide ‘adequate visibility’ to events commemorating Patel’s birth anniversary.

New Delhi: The office of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has urged other central ministers to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which falls on 31 October, in the states and Union territories.

The NDA government, which began celebrating 31 October as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas from 2014, has drawn up a string of programmes to be held across the country to mark the day this year too.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for instance, will be unveiling the 182-metre statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat.

Government sources told ThePrint that Singh’s private secretary Kundan Kumar has written to private secretaries of all Union ministers that in order to ensure “adequate visibility” to the events, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has “desired” that ministers in the Central government associate themselves with celebrations in the states and Union territories.

‘States should have the presence of ministers’

The letter, which was delivered to many of the ministers’ private secretaries Wednesday evening, says it is desirable that all states and Union territories should have the presence of ministers on the occasion.

“In case a state/UT is not covered, the MHA would assign that state/UT to a minister, in consultation with the ministry,” it states.

Kumar’s letter also gives details on the itinerary that ministers should follow in the run-up to 31 October.

“If the minister has a prior programme in a state/UT on or before 31 October 2018, he/she may continue with his/her programme and also participate in the events of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas,” the letter says.

If the minister prefers to participate in the celebrations in his/her home state, it should be arranged for 31 October, the letter adds.

Some of the ministers’ private secretaries were taken by surprise when they were delivered the letter Wednesday night, thinking it was something urgent, a government source said.