Sandhya S-Newskarnataka-Mangalore
Mangalore: Gujarat minister for Energy and Petrochemicals Saurabh Patel has said that the 182 meter tall ‘Statue of Unity’ proposed to be built in Gujarat is an attempt made to portray the unity among Indians.
Speaking to the media in the city on December 7, Saturday, Patel said the Statue will be made out of farming tools which will be donated by the hardworking farmers of India and sample of soil from every village of India will be used for the purpose.
Under the campaign, a ‘Run for Unity’ will be organized all over India and an ‘essay competition’ for schools in every jurisdiction, the Minister said adding a photo collage of all elected representatives will be displayed and a petition called Su-Raj, propagating good governance will be initiated.
Terming the campaign as a non-political movement, the Gujarat Minister for Energy said that Narendra Modi has been working on this proposal for the last two years. On questioning about the timing of the campaign which coincided with the upcoming Parliamentary elections, Saurabh Patel, said “The designing and details take time, the whole world knew about the imminent project and when we were ready we made the announcement.”
Even after repeated attempts, Saurabh Patel did not disclose the budget of the campaign nor did he mention about the estimated cost for the Statue. He concluded by saying that the project will be completed in the next four to five years.
The Gujarat state delegation included MLA Nagraj Thakur, MLA Valarbhai Patel, MLA Varshaben Doshi and MLA Dinesh Patel.