Lucknow, Oct 31 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday led Uttar Pradesh in paying tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary.

After paying floral tributes at a statue of the first Home Minister of India, Governor Naik said that if B.R. Ambedkar was called the Architect of the Indian Constitution, Patel should be called the architect of the Indian republic.

Chief Minister Adityanath said the great services rendered by the Iron Man would be remembered for ages, as it was he who unified India and ensured that independent states were assimilated as one nation.

"It was Sardar Patel who saw to it that the nation remains one and when he decided that this shall happen, be it the Nizam of Hyderabad or the Nawab of Junagarh, all fell in line," the Chief Minister said in his speech.

He also flagged off the "Run of Unity", in which hundreds of people, including enthusiastic school children, took part.

Later, the Governor also administered the oath of unity to all those present, including state ministers, senior police officials, bureaucrats and Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia, among other dignitaries.