Mangalore, Dec 7: Iron Man Sardar Patel is the inspiration of unity and integrity of the country. So a 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Patel, touted as the world’s tallest statue will be installed on the banks of river Narmada in Gujarat under the aegis of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust as a tribute to one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India said Gujarat Energy Minister Saurabhbhai Patel.
Addressing a press meet at Hotel Ocean Pearl here on Saturday December 7, he said the ‘Statue of Unity’ is going to be the world’s tallest statue. “This is indeed an invaluable opportunity to honour the visionary of India, Sardar Patel, who united 562 princely states of the union of India,” he said.
Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the same on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel. The statue will be three times taller than America’s most popular ‘Statue of Liberty’. As part of this campaign, used farm iron tools will be collected from all the villages across India, which will be melted and used in the making of the statue,” he told reporters at a press conference.
A unique marathon, ‘Run for Unity’, will be held at 565 places on Sardar Patel’s death anniversary on December 15, in which more than 20 lac people from across the country are expected to participate.
As part of the campaign, ‘Write for Unity’ – a slogan and essay competition will be held in 1.67 lakh schools across India.
“In a major campaign, signatures from over 2 crore people will be collected and this will be the world’s largest signature campaign ever. Called the ‘Suraaj petition’, it will be displayed near the statue,” he said.
Patel claimed the statue project was “apolitical” and it has nothing to do in promoting Narendra Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
On December 15, the Trust which is headed by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will be organizing the 2-km marathon across the country. In Karnataka, the marathon will be held in 28 towns and cities including Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore and Belgaum.
MLAs of Gujarat Nagarji Thakor, Vaghjibhai Patel, Varshaben Doshi, Dilipbhai Patel, Raje Mehta and others were present.
