PM Modi to unveil 25-ft Vajpayee statue in Lucknow on December 25

“Prime Minister Modi will reach Lucknow in a special plane on December 25 around 3 pm and reach Lok Bhawan directly where he will unveil the statue. He will also deliver a 25-minute speech. Governor Anandi Ben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be present on the occasion,” said a senior state government officer.

Sources said the state government is planning grand events to mark the occasion and a ceremony would also be organised in Lucknow. There will be a seminar on ‘Rashtradharma Va Rashtravaad Aur Atal Bihari Vajpayee’, which will be organised by the department of culture on December 24. The national poets’ conference will be held on December 25, the concluding day of the ceremony.

The statue of five-time Lucknow MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died last year aged 93, was brought from Jaipur on December 9 on a truck and has been installed at the Lok Bhawan entrance. According to government sources, nearly Rs 90 lakh had been sanctioned for the construction of the statue and the pedestal. Last year, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that a statue of Vajpayee would be installed at Lok Bhawan.