Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a statue of Sardar Patel, described by the Gujarat government as “the world’s tallest”, on the birth anniversary of India’s first Home Minister on October 31, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Sunday.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the BJP’s national executive meeting, he said the statue with a height of 182m will be a symbol of the country’s unity and integrity.
Mr. Rupani said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had collected iron, soil and water from across the country to use them to build the statue, a decision announced by Mr. Modi in 2013 when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
In an apparent reference to the issue of Naxalism following the arrest of some activists for allegedly collaborating with Left ultras, Mr. Rupani said the statue will highlight Patel’s works for the country’s unity.
He said that the Opposition had termed it “empty talk” when Mr. Modi announced that his government would build the world’s tallest statue to commemorate Patel. Mr. Rupani said while the Congress had sidelined Patel, Mr. Modi brought him and his works in front of the world.
Patel, a Congress leader, has become a revered figure for the BJP, which has sought to project an ideological connect between its espousal of nationalism and his efforts at national integration.
