Union Minister and BJP president J.P. Nadda on Saturday said the abrogation of Article 370 had completed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel&rsquo;s unfinished mission of national integration, asserting that today&rsquo;s India stands on the foundation laid by the Iron Man of India.
Addressing the Sardar Gatha programme during the &lsquo;Sardar @150 Unity March&rsquo; in Vadodara, Nadda described Patel as the &ldquo;architect of modern India&rdquo; and said his greatest legacy was the unification of the nation.
He noted that while Patel is revered as a national icon, his defining achievement was transforming the vision of India&rsquo;s ancient civilisation into reality within just two years after Independence. &ldquo;Sardar Patel laid the foundation of a Viksit Bharat,&rdquo; Nadda said.
Recalling Patel&rsquo;s personal sacrifices, Nadda said that despite being a successful barrister in Ahmedabad, Patel gave up a comfortable life at Mahatma Gandhi&rsquo;s call to dedicate himself fully to the freedom movement and public welfare. He added that Patel consistently stood by farmers and masses during movements and satyagrahas, with his moral authority and administrative skill making him indispensable to India&rsquo;s freedom struggle.
Highlighting Patel&rsquo;s historic role following Independence, Nadda said the integration of 562 princely states into the Indian Union was an extraordinary achievement. &ldquo;Through dialogue, persuasion and, where necessary, decisive action, Patel ensured these states became part of India,&rdquo; he said.
Drawing a comparison with former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru&rsquo;s handling of Jammu and Kashmir, Nadda reiterated the BJP&rsquo;s criticism, saying Nehru&rsquo;s approach resulted in the introduction of Article 370, which he described as a long-standing obstacle to national unity.
Nadda claimed that Patel had persuaded Maharaja Hari Singh to accede to India, but Article 370 later weakened complete integration. He said the BJP-led government had corrected this by scrapping the provision.
&ldquo;It was the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategy of Home Minister Amit Shah that led to the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2020, completing Sardar Patel&rsquo;s vision of a fully integrated Jammu and Kashmir,&rdquo; Nadda said.
He concluded by stating that the idea of a strong, united and developed India is firmly rooted in the ideals and leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. [Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed.]

Article 370 repeal fulfilled Sardar Patel’s vision

JP Nadda says abrogation of Article 370 completed Patel’s mission of national unity

Article 370 repeal fulfilled Sardar Patel’s vision

JP Nadda says abrogation of Article 370 completed Patel’s mission of national unity

November 29, 2025 | 18:55 IST