A statue of freedom fighter Govind Ballabh Pant that was removed from the Parliament premises recently would be unveiled at its new location, a roundabout opposite Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on Pandit Pant Marg here on Wednesday, officials said on Tuesday.
As part of the project to construct a new Parliament building, the Central Public Works Department would be relocating the statues of prominent leaders from the current Parliament building. Recently, the iconic statue of Mahatma Gandhi opposite the main entrance of the Parliament House was relocated to near the Speaker’s entrance as it was coming in the way of construction work, according to the CPWD.
The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and the CPWD have planned a ‘garlanding’ ceremony for the statue on Wednesday. Former Lok Sabha MP and chairperson of the GB Pant Memorial Society Ila Pant and HUA Minister Hardeep Puri would attend the event. A CPWD official said the roundabout would be the permanent location for the statue.
According to a senior HUA Ministry official, all statues in the Parliament premises would be shifted over the course of the project. Work on the new Parliament, which is adjacent to the existing building built by the British in the 1920s, started this month and is scheduled to be completed by the time India celebrates 75 years of Independence in 2022.
