New Delhi, Oct. 31 -- Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal administered the National Unity Pledge to officers, employees and maritime cadets at his official residence in New Delhi on Saturday, marking National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas), observed annually on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Sonowal also paid floral tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, who is widely remembered as the 'Iron Man of India' for his pivotal role in integrating more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union after Independence.

Recalling Patel's contribution to national unity, Sonowal said that his legacy had received renewed recognition under the...