Modi to unveil world’s tallest statue today
STATUE OF UNITY The 182m monument will eclipse the 128m Spring Temple Buddha in Henan, China
five years in the making, Gujarat will on Wednesday gift the world its tallest statue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a 182m-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, known as the Statue of Unity, at Kevadiya in Narmada district on the 143th birth anniversary of India’s first home minister. The statue, whose foundation was laid by Modi in 2013 as chief minister of Gujarat, will dwarf the current tallest statue, the Spring Temple Buddha in China (128m), and will be almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty in New York. But the Statue of Unity will lose its crown to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial, a 192m statue under construction in the Arabian sea off the Mumbai coast, when work is expected to finish in three years.
Modi reached the state capital of Gandhinagar on Tuesday night and is expected to reach the venue around 9am on Wednesday. He will lead the puja ceremony with water brought in kalash (metal pots) from 30 holy rivers, including the Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra among others.
Apart from governor OP Kohli, others present at the inauguration will be Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala and Madhya Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel. Invitation to other state heads to visit later on has already been extended by chief minister Vijay Rupani’s government.
The official release by the state information department said that a fly-past by the Indian Air Force and music by the ceremonial bands of the army, navy and air force will also be part of the unveiling ceremony. “The statue is a tribute in a real sense as here the research on agriculture and tribal development will take place. These were the subjects close to Sardar saab. It (statue) will open the floodgates of tourism in this tribal belt, bringing income to locals ’’, said deputy chief minister Nitin Patel.
Cultural groups from 29 Indian states will perform as the PM arrives at the statue venue on Sadhu Bet, a hillock 3.1km away from the Sardar Sarovar Dam.
Experts see the statue as the latest in a series of attempts by the BJP to lay claim to the legacy of Patel, who was a lifelong member of the Congress, at a time when a section of the Patel (Patidar) community has grown increasingly disgruntled with the BJP.
The support of the influential Patidar community, which constitutes 12% of the state’s population, is crucial for the BJP to repeat its 2014 record of winning all 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. ‘’Not just Patidars, the statue will help the BJP woo Gujaratis as it has been seen a moment for Gujarat Asmita (pride). Even over the OBC quota issue, Patidars are divided and a large section is not adamant over the demand of reservation. This section will be very pleased with Sardar memorial,” said political analyst Krishnakant Unadkat.
But the inauguration is not without controversies. Scores of tribal groups from nine districts have called for a strike and as many as 11 Congress tribal MLAs and independent MLA Jignesh Mewani have supported the call. “Patels and tribals are unhappy and the drama surrounding the statue’s inauguration is uncalled for,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.