Vajpayee's statue to come up in Manali

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Friday laid the foundation stone of a statue of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his first death anniversary, an official said.

The statue will come up in the high altitude town of Manali in Himachal Pradesh, which the BJP stalwart considered as his second home.

Addressing the 'Atal Smiriti-2019' function held in Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in Manali through video conference, the CM said that Vajpayee provided a dynamic leadership to the nation and was always regarded as a world leader.

Thakur said Vajpayee introduced Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna and national highways development project that proved a boon for the country especially for the people of Himachal Pradesh as thousands of villages were connected with roads under this scheme.

Vajpayee had special connection with Himachal, which he fondly called his second home and never missed any opportunity to come here, Thakur added.

The small house that he built at Prini village in Kullu district in the 90s now stands live with his memories, the CM said.

Transport and Forest Minister Govind Thakur, MP Ram Swaroop Sharma and MLA Surinder Shourie were present in Manali on the occasion.

Earlier, the Thakur visited state BJP headquarters at Shimla and paid floral tributes to the BJP stalwart.

Thakur said the biggest gift of Vajpayee to Himachal Pradesh, especially for the people of tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti, is the multi-crore Rohtang tunnel project that he pushed hard for round the year connectivity to the Lahaul Valley.