BJP wary of PM statue plan

Lucknow: The ambitious plans of some BJP workers to construct a 100-foot tall statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Sardhana in Meerut may not see the light of day.

Senior BJP leaders are wary of the project and feel that it would send a wrong message among the people.

J.P. Singh, a retired engineer in Meerut had announced his plans to construct a 100-feet statue of the Prime Minister in Sardhana town. The engineer, who retired from government service last week, said he planned to construct a temple named ‘Modi Mandir’, though he made it clear that it is only being named in the PM’s honour and will not be used to worship the Prime Minister in anyway.

The retired engineer even announced that the Bhoomi Pujan of the project would take place on October 23 and BJP president Amit Shah was being invited for the event.

Talking to this correspondent on Wednesday, a senior BJP leader said, “We are not sure if the project can be allowed at this stage. Mr Modi himself is not too inclined to such initiatives. He wants to focus more on work than on idol worship by party workers”.

With elections in Gujarat and then other states scheduled to be held over the next few months, followed by the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP, sources said, is keen to present the humane side of the Prime Minister and project him as a man who is working overtime for the development of the country and its people. The BJP apparently does not wish to give any fodder to the Opposition for criticism.

In February 2015, Mr Narendra Modi had been ‘appalled’ at the idea of a temple being built in his name in Gujarat.

“Have seen the news about a temple being built in my name. I was appalled. This is shocking and against India’s great traditions”, the Prime Minister had tweeted.

The PM expressed his displeasure at the move and asked those behind it to not do it. He suggested that if people doing it have the time and resources, they better devote it to the effort towards a clean India. Attempts to built Modi temples in Allahabad and Kaushambhi were also thwarted after the Prime Minister made his displeasure clear.

Meanwhile, Mr J.P. Singh said that the proposed cost of the Modi temple would be around Rs 10 crore and the money would be collected through donations; this again, is something that the BJP does not approve of.