Shillong, Dec 07: After Assam, the Gujarat delegation reached Meghalaya. Although the delegation met Meghalaya Governor KK Paul, however, the Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma was unavailable to meet them because of busy schedule.
The BJP’s ongoing effort to claim the legacy of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country’s first home minister, reached Meghalaya today with the party requesting the state to contribute to the construction of the leader’s statue in Gujarat.
Expressing Confident that Meghalaya will also participate in the project, Ramanlal Vora, Gujarat cabinet Minister said “we are positive that Meghalaya Government will also extend it’s support for the project.”
The delegation met the Assam Chief Minister prior to their arrival in Shillong and sought for his cooperation. He also pointed out that Sardar Patel did not belong to Gujarat alone but to the whole country.
“Sardar Patel was a leader of national stature and held in high esteem and respected by one and all. He belonged to the whole country,” he said.
The mobilisation for the “Statue of Unity” project, anchored from Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s office in Gandhinagar, bears a distinct resemblance to the VHP’s mobilisation for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya where bricks were called from the entire country.
Clarifying their stand, Vora said it was apt that iron be collected from different parts of the country for the ‘Statue of Unity’ as Sardar Vallabhbhai was known as the ‘Loha Purush’ (Iron Man) of India.
“we are asking for iron and soil for a giant statue of unity in Gujarat to be constructed in the memory of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, who has been widely credited with merger of various princely states into the Union of India,” he said.
It may be reminded that today is the 21st anniversary of Babri Mashjid demolition and in this country where communal violence is most common, the construction of ‘statue of Unity’ can unite the country or not is a big question.
However, hoping that this will create a sense of unity among the people, the delegation said they will collect soil and used iron pieces from all the villages in the country to build the 182-metre-tall statue, double the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The statue will be constructed at Sadhu Bet, an island near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Narmada district of Gujarat. It will be built by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, which is constituted by the Gujarat government, at an approximate cost of over Rs 2000 crore.
With the mantra of Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation of the statue in October and the target deadline to complete the statue is six years.
Meanwhile, In an effort to involve the entire nation in the construction of ‘Statue of Unity’ at Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET), headed by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is organising a ‘Run for Unity’ on Dec 15.
The world tallest statue will be built with the convergence of Kisan Shakti, Gram Shakti and Jan Shakti to make stronger the national Unity and Integrity.
While refusing to admit that the campaign is for political mileage in view of the Lok Sabha elections, he said that the main objective is to create unity among all sections of people and the message of unity will be echoed through the statue.
The delegation also asserted that the visit of the delegation should not be linked to project Narendra Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate. The 14 member delegation would head to Nagaland after Meghalaya trip
It is expected that altogether 120 crore farmer from India would contribute agricultural goods to construct the statue of the Iron Man.(SP News)
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