Modi to unveil Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statue on Dec 25

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil a bronze statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary in Lucknow on December 25.

A three-day ceremony, beginning Dec 23, will also be held to mark the occasion. Modi will reach the state capital on the last day of the ceremony and inaugurate Vajpayee's statue at Lok Bhavan.

He will also lay the foundation stone of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University.

"Prime Minister Modi will reach Lucknow by a special plane at around 3 pm on December 25 and will directly go to Lok Bhavan, where he will unveil the statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee," Y.P. Singh, Joint Director of Culture Department, said.

"There will be a 25-minute address by the PM. Governor Anandi Ben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also attend the event. Modi will leave for Delhi at around 4 pm," he added.

He said that there will be a recitation of 51 poems of Vajpayee by the Department of Culture on December 23 and there will be a seminar on "Rashtra Dharma, Rashtravad aur Atal Bihari Vajpayee" on December 24.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and RSS thinker Rakesh Sinha will attend the seminar. The event will be presided over by the UP Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit.

On the last day of the ceremony on December 25, National Poet Conference will be organised.IANS