It is a great day in the history of India when the tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel has been unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat, on Wednesday. PM Modi inaugurated Sardar Vakkabhbhai Patel’s memorial on the leader’s 143rd birth anniversary in Gujarat’s Narmada district.
It is the “symbol of the country’s unity and integrity” and the Gujarat government describe it as “the statue of unity”. The epic bronze sculpture is the world’s tallest statue measuring 600 feet (182m) outsmarting China’s Spring Temple Buddha (153m) and USA’s Statue of Liberty (93m). The memorial was designed and built in 33 months at a whopping cost of Rs.2,989 crore.
The state CM said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had gathered iron, soil and water from across the nation to effectively use those ingredients in a bid to build the statue in Gujarat, it was an important decision announced by PM Modi in 2013 when he was the at the helm of Gujarat as the chief minister.
Vijay Rupani said the tallest statue will emphasize Sardar Patel’s significant contributions for the nation’s unity. When the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that his government would build the world’s tallest statue in a bid to pay a huge tribute to Sardar Patel, opposition parties described it as “empty talk” but a change is evident and the project has now been installed with world-class facilities, he said.
He went on to add that the Congress had sidelined Sardar Patel’s works but it was PM Modi who brought him and his works in front of the world. Sardar Patel who was a Congress leader has become an iconic figure for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
(With inputs from PTI)
