By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : There is nothing political in the proposed 182-metre “Statue of Unity” of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to be erected on the banks of the Narmada, a minister from Gujarat said in the Kerala capital Wednesday.
The statue, costing Rs.2,500 crore and set to be the tallest in the world, is being erected by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust, Gujarat’s Agriculture Minister Babubhai Bhukeria said.
A 16-member delegation from Gujarat, led by Bhukeria, is on a state visit to Kerala to campaign for the donation of agricultural tools for construction of the statue. The metal for the statue will come, at least in part, from old tools.
“Statue of Unity” will be a tribute to India’s first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is expected to take around four years to build.
“There’s nothing political in the building of the statue. Instead, it is to honour the visionary of the country, Sardar Patel, who united 562 princely states in the Union of India,” the minister said in response to a question on whether this was a bid to promote his state’s chief minister Narendra Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate.
The delegation visited Kochi and Kottayam districts in the state before arriving in the capital city and will return to Gujarat Thursday.
The Rs.2,500-crore statue building project is expected to be funded by the people of the country, I.K. Jadeja, a former minister of Gujarat, said.
It will be built using soil, water and metal parts (the last coming from discarded tools) from across the country. The campaign for the collection of building material is set to begin Sunday.
Asked if Modi might contest for the Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, the minister said: “No comments.”
Reporters also pointed to the recent shelving of a visit by a Kerala assembly committee to Gujarat as there was apprehension that it would turn out to be controversial. In response, Bhukeria said: “We have no problems if anyone wants to visit our state. But we can’t do anything if those who decide to come later cancel out.”
The delegation also included an IAS and an IPS officer hailing from Kerala.
The convenor of the statue building project, Sanjay Kaul, was earlier district collector of Thiruvananthapuram.