Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Wednesday paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 143rd birth anniversary and recalled his effort in persuading over 550 princely states to join India.

"Even today Sardar Patel is pertinent, an example of country's unity. Now forces of breaking the nation are more active than earlier----some in the name of caste, some in the name of communalism...There is a necessity to give a fitting reply to such forces," Das told a run-for-unity programme.