PM Narendra Modi unveils 72-feet-high Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya statue in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday unveiled a grand statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay in Delhi, the 10th President of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The statue has been established at the Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Park, located on Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Marg, opposite BJP Headquarters in the national capital. The prime minister before unveiling the statue lauded the role of Pt Deendayal in giving a vision to the party and the country to achieve development goals unitedly. 

PM Modi pays tribute to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay 

According to the information, the metal statue, which has been made up of copper and alloy, was carved with fine details by sculptor Rajesh Bhandari. The statue is 72 feet in height and weighs around 40 tons. 

Ahead of the unveiling event, Prime Minister Modi along with BJP National President JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the party’s headquarters and paid tribute to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s statue. 

Addressing the event, PM Modi said that Pandit Deendayal’s teaching of serving the marginalised with all compassion is the BJP’s guiding force to where the party is today. He said, “His message of serving the poor and marginalised with utmost compassion is our guiding force. I feel proud to live a life with Deendayal Upadhyay's inspiration. His life was linked to the railway tracks and even my journey is linked to the railway tracks.”

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, who was born on September 25th, 1916, was a leader of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the forerunner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was succeeded by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the BJS President. 

In the 1940s, Pandit Upadhyaya started the monthly publication ‘Rashtra Dharma’, to spread the ideals of Hindutva revival. He is known for drafting Jan Sangh's official political doctrine, ‘Integral humanism’, by including some cultural-nationalism values. He is also known for his agreement with several Gandhian socialist principles such as Sarvodaya (progress of all) and Swadeshi (self-sufficiency).