Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka to attend Virbhadra Singh statue unveiling ceremony in Shimla

The unveiling of the statue of Virbhadra Singh, who served as Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister six times, is set to take place on October 13 at the Daulat Singh Park on the historic Ridge.

Virbhadra Singh first took office as chief minister on April 8, 1983, and served for nearly 23 years and 300 days.

The event will be graced by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, as well as Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Among the other dignitaries expected to attend are Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, state party in-charge Rajni Patil, HPCC President Pratibha Singh (Virbhadra Singh’s wife), and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri.

The invitation for the ceremony was extended by Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is also the Chairman of the Raja Virbhadra Singh Foundation, the event’s organiser.

The statue’s unveiling was initially planned for his birth anniversary on June 23, but was postponed due to the pre-occupation of central leaders.

The statue will be situated near that of Dr YS Parmar, the first chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, as well as other notable figures, including Mahatma Gandhi and former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose statues are also installed on the Ridge.