Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived in Shimla on Sunday afternoon to attend the unveiling of the statue of Virbhadra Singh at Daulat Singh Park on the historic Ridge on Monday. Singh was Himachal Pradesh’s chief minister six times. Sonia was welcomed by the hill state’s Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, and Public Works Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh, along with other dignitaries.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the chief minister, the deputy chief minister, the state party in-charge Rajni Patil, and HPCC President Pratibha Singh (Virbhadra Singh's wife) may also attend the event.
The chief minister inspected the preparations for the statue unveiling and issued necessary directives to ensure foolproof security arrangements for the event.
Virbhadra Singh first took oath as the chief minister on April 8, 1983, and served for over two decades.
The statue's unveiling was initially planned for Singh’s birth anniversary on June 23, but was postponed due to the pre-occupation of the grand old party’s top leadership. 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.
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.
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