Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday unveiled a 30-ft-high statue of Bhagat Singh at Mohali’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, which had been in the eye of the storm owing to the BJP’s allegations of a delay in its unveiling. Mann said he would go to Khatkar Kalan, Bhagat Singh’s native village, whenever he bought a new vehicle during his days as an artist. “I always felt that it was because of martyrs like Bhagat Singh that we are free. I would always take his blessings whenever I bought a new vehicle,” he said. The statue was crafted from bronze in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 5 crore, according to the chief minister. The Opposition BJP recently held a protest march alleging that the AAP government was delaying the unveiling of the Bhagat Singh statue. Initially scheduled for September 28, on the birth anniversary of the freedom fighter, the unveiling was postponed in view of the model code of conduct for panchayat elections.
