PM Modi unveils word's tallest Statue of Unity in honour of Patel, flays 'political prism'

Agencies
October 31, 2018

Kevadiya, Oct 31: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated to the nation the much- awaited 182-metre high Statue of Unity in honour of coutry's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Mr Modi urged critics not to dismiss his government's efforts to pay tributes to icons like Patel with 'political prism'. 

Paying rich tributes to Sardar Patel, the Prime Minister said the towering statue will serve as a reminder about the courage and firm political commitment of a man who brought in unity among all princely states in 1947 and later and thwarted efforts to disintegrate India.

Built on Sadhu Bet Island on Narmada river, the imposing statue is twice as high as the 93-metre Statue of Liberty in New York and surpasses the China's Spring Temple Buddha by about 29 metres. 

He lashed out at those skeptics and political detractors who try to see his government's efforts to show due respect to great sons of India such as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with 'political prism'.

"At times, they give an impression as if by remembering the contributions of great sons of India like Sardar Patel is an offence. Is it an offence?," Mr Modi said. 

The remarks from the Prime Minister came even as critics and a section of citizens on social network and micro blogging site Twitter have tried to suggest that showing tributes to the legacy of Patel was akin to election gimmick.

Three Indian Air Force planes flew past the Patel figure and created the tricolour in the sky on the occasion graced among others by Gujarat Governor O P Kohli, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, BJP chief Amit Shah, Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala.

The grand ceremony coincided with Patel's 143rd birth anniversary. Originally, the concept of such a grand statue was conceptualised by Mr Modi in 2010 during his stint as the Gujarat Chief Minister.

"It is in fitness of things that Sardar Patel's birthday today is being celebrated as Ekta Diwas in the country," Mr Modi said.

He said it goes to the visionary statesmanship of Sardar Patel that the fundamental right is today inherent part of India's democracy.

Approximately 70,000 tonnes of cement in addition to 18,500 tonnes of reinforcement steel and 6000 tonnes of structural steel have been used to build the statue - also billed as an architectural wonder.

"Had Sardar Patel not united the country, we would need visas to see lions in Gujarat or pay homage at Somnath or view the Charminar in Hyderabad," Mr Modi said, lauding the stellar role played by Sardar Patel in integrating the princely states after the partition of 1947.

PM Modi described the Statue of Unity as a symbol of the country's engineering and technical capabilities. He also took part in a 'pooja' on the occasion.

He also recorded appreciation of the erstwhile rulers of the princely states and said their 'sacrifice' and decision to merge with Indian union was no less.

A viewing gallery has been created at a height of 135 metres at the venue to enable tourists to have a view of the dam and nearby mountain ranges.

This Statue will boost tourism and help local tribals get a regular source of income, Mr Modi said.

The world's largest statue is also a symbol of 'New India' as being envisioned by his government, Mr Modi said.

"This statue is recognition of contribution of tribals and farmers who contributed iron pieces and their sincerity for the unique statue," the Prime Minister said.

"When I proposed this Statue on October 31, 2010, I wanted that the man deserves his due place in Indian history," the Prime Minister said. 

"There were skeptics who thought India's diversity will be a weakness. Sardar Patel proved the prophets of doom wrong. During the time of such skepticism, it was Sardar Patel who stood as a symbol of unity," the Prime Minister said.

Sardar Patel had the unique synthesis of 'Kautiyla's diplomacy and Shivaji's bravery', Mr Modi said.

Comments

Anti-modi
 - 
Thursday, 1 Nov 2018

when you vote for a man who always lie then your futur will be in danger, the day will come to india that they will be all poor people and all political people are rich and dont think thast they will develop hindu people, you are the most effected people in india not muslim or cristian.

 

 

softman
 - 
Wednesday, 31 Oct 2018

Use this money for poor in the name Sardar Patel.

 

Foolish decision to spend for statue

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News Network
July 14,2020

Jaipur, Jul 14: In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together.

This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.

The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group.

In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.

Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified.

Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".

Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar tweeted, "...Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot's slavery. That is not acceptable to us."

Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister's post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

On Sunday, he claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and "some independents".

Those close to him disputed Gehlot's claim that his government had a majority, and said this is proven in the assembly and not at the CM's house.

Sources close to him have also ruled out the possibility of Pilot joining the BJP.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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Agencies
May 28,2020

Several India-based firms are spoofing the World Health Organisation (WHO) by creating fake Gmail accounts and luring business leaders in disguise of informing them of latest COVID-19 announcements and hack their personal and financial information, Google has warned.

These "hack-for-hire" firms, many based in India, have been creating Gmail accounts spoofing the WHO, largely targeting business leaders in financial services, consulting, and healthcare corporations within numerous countries including, the US, Slovenia, Canada, India, Bahrain, Cyprus, and the UK.

"The lures themselves encourage individuals to sign up for direct notifications from the WHO to stay informed of COVID-19 related announcements, and link to attacker-hosted websites that bear a strong resemblance to the official WHO website," security researchers from Google's Threat Analysis Group said on Wednesday.

The sites typically feature fake login pages that prompt potential victims to give up their Google account credentials, and occasionally encourage individuals to give up other personal information, such as their phone numbers.

On any given day, Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) said it is tracking more than 270 targeted or government-backed attacker groups from more than 50 countries.

Last month, it sent 1,755 warnings to users whose accounts were targets of government-backed attackers.

"Our team of analysts and security experts is focused on identifying and stopping issues like phishing campaigns, zero-day vulnerabilities and hacking against Google, our products and our users," said the tech giant.

Google continues to see attacks from groups like Charming Kitten on medical and healthcare professionals, including WHO employees.

"We're seeing a resurgence in COVID-related hacking and phishing attempts from numerous commercial and government-backed attackers," said the company.

Government-backed or state-sponsored groups have different goals in carrying out their attacks: Some are looking to collect intelligence or steal intellectual property; others are targeting dissidents or activists, or attempting to engage in coordinated influence operations and disinformation campaigns.

Google said that since March, it has removed more than 1,000 YouTube channels that were part of a large campaign and behaving in a coordinated manner.

"These channels were mostly uploading spammy, non-political content, but a small subset posted primarily Chinese-language political content similar to the findings of a recent Graphika report," said the company.

Several cybersecurity firms have seen a spike in COVID-19 related scams and hacking attempts. Hackers are also creating scam sites similar to COVID-19 relief packages.

Researchers at Check Point Software Technologies revealed in mid-May that they have seen 192,000 coronavirus-related cyber-attacks per week over the past three weeks, a 30 % increase compared to previous weeks.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will definitely get its economic growth back as the government continues to pursue various reforms.

Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, he said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy.

"On the one hand we have to safe lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said.

He said he gets the confidence from farmers, small businesses and entrepreneurs for getting the economic growth back.

"Corona may have slowed our speed (of growth) but India has now moved ahead from lockdown with the phase one of unlock. Unlock Phase-1 has reopened a large part of the economy," he said.

He said intent, inclusion, investment, infrastructure and innovation are crucial for India to revert back to a high-growth trajectory.

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