Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said on Sunday that the unveiling of the statue of six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was postponed to July 15 from June 23, his 91th birth anniversary.
“The decision to postpone the unveiling ceremony was taken after receiving communication from the Congress high command in Delhi.
Several senior leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, expressed their willingness to attend the ceremony but requested that the date be deferred.
Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge also conveyed his intention to attend,” said Vikramaditya Singh, son of the late Virbhadra Singh.
He added, “The unveiling ceremony will be a government function. Senior BJP leaders, including Union minister J P Nadda—who hails from Himachal Pradesh—Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur, and all BJP MLAs have also been invited to the rescheduled event on July 15.”
The statue will be unveiled at the Ridge Ground in Shimla.
“Everyone should come to the Ridge Ground and witness this important occasion. On this day, while paying tribute to the architect of modern Himachal, the late Virbhadra Singh, we will also collectively envision a new Himachal,” Vikramaditya Singh said.
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Vikramaditya Singh is also chairman of the Raja Virbhadra Singh Foundation.
A meeting of the charitable trust was held in Shimla on Sunday.
In February 2023, during a period of political turmoil in the Congress government—when six MLAs had revolted and cross-voted in favour of BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha elections—Vikramaditya Singh threatened to resign, expressing dissatisfaction over the government’s failure to allot space for the statue of his late father at the Ridge.
He was later assured that his demand would be met.
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According to district administration sources, a space has been earmarked at Daulat Singh Park on the Ridge—near the statue of Himachal’s first chief minister, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar—for Virbhadra Singh’s statue.
