BADAL (SRI MUKTSAR SAHIB): The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today launched a campaign by collecting soil from different sacred places and agriculture implements here and handed over the same to BJP State President Mr. Kamal Sharma for the installation of the life sized statue in the memory of Sardar Patel, the great freedom fighter and popularly known as the ‘Iron man of India’.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the Iron man of India Sardar Patel played a pro-active role in the unity and nation building and as a symbolic to his true character we have started collecting this material from nearly 12500 villages across the state. Mr. Sardar Patel as an able administrator included 562 provincially states in the national main stream. He said Sardar Patel belong to a family of agriculturists and got higher education due to which he could easily  feel the pulse of people.

Sardar Patel made an outstanding contribution in the national freedom struggle and became the first Union Home Minister in the post independence era. He said that this statue would be 182 meters high and would be double in height from the ‘Statue of Liberty’ inUSA. He said nearly Rs. 2500 crore would be spent on this statue and it would be the highest statue in the world, adding he said  this statue was being installed near Kewaria in Narmada district at a place Sadhu Baid Island nearly 3.5 kilometer from Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Speaking on the occasion, BJP State President Mr. Kamal Sharma said that this campaign has been launched from village Badal and would be continue across the state for a month to collect soil from sacred places and agriculture implements for the statue of Sardar Patel. He said these implements of Iron would be re-casted for making its use in the statue. The Chief Minister was accompanied by Chairman Punjab Agro Jathedar Dyal Singh Kolianwali and Principal Secretary to CM Mr. KJS Cheema.