Run for Unity: Nayab Saini warns youth against spreading fake news

Panchkula. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday told young people to check every social media message before forwarding it, and to stay away from rumours and posts that spread discrimination.

“Even small but responsible actions by young people can go a long way in strengthening trust and harmony in society,” Saini said while addressing participants at the Run for Unity in Panchkula.

The run marked National Unity Day, observed on the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, his 151st this year. It also came on the eve of Haryana’s 60th foundation day. The state was formed on November 1, 1966.

Saini flagged off the run from the HSVP Shivalik Country Club in MDC, Sector 1, showering flower petals on the runners before joining them on the course himself. Youngsters and children ran to patriotic songs and chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. The route ended at the Mata Mansa Devi temple complex. The CM later administered the National Unity Day pledge to participants and officials, asking them to protect the unity, integrity and security of the country.

Haryana at 60

Linking the occasion to the state’s milestone, Saini asked people to take a pledge for Haryana’s progress. “Tomorrow, Haryana completes 60 years of its formation. On the eve of this historic day, everyone should resolve to work for the state’s progress and make the nation’s unity stronger,” he said.

He said serving the nation has always been a matter of pride in Haryana. Its soldiers guard the borders, its farmers toil in the fields and its sportspersons raise the Tricolour on world stages.

He called on people to help build a developed Haryana and a strong, united India.

Patel’s legacy

Recalling the country’s situation in 1947, Saini said India was reeling from the pain of Partition, and hundreds of princely states still had to be brought into one nation. As independent India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, Patel merged more than 560 princely states through foresight, sharp communication and sheer determination, he said.

“His life teaches us that with firm resolve, honest intentions and the nation first, even goals that seem impossible can be achieved,” the CM said.

Saini urged people to follow Patel’s example of public service, discipline and devotion to duty. “Our languages, clothes and traditions may differ, but our Constitution, the Tricolour and our national identity bind us together,” he said. Respecting every language and culture, and standing by one another in good times and bad, is how unity is built in daily life, he added.

He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with carrying Patel’s vision forward through the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat programme, which encourages exchange between the languages, cultures and traditions of different states. The 182-metre Statue of Unity in Gujarat honours Patel’s role in nation-building and shows what a united country can achieve, he said.

Rajya Sabha MP Rekha Sharma, Kalka MLA Shakti Rani Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Satpal Sharma, Commissioner of Police Pankaj Nain, Additional Deputy Commissioner Vivek Arya, DCP Aditi Singh, BJP district president Ajay Mittal, Haryana Vimukt Ghumantu Jati Vikas Board chairman Jasmer Banjara, SDM Panchkula Mannat Rana and SDM Kalka Sanyam Garg were among those present.