Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will formally invite Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to attend a function to unveil the Statue of Unity, deemed to be the tallest statue, at Kavedia in Gujarat.

The Gujarat Chief Minister and a 14-member delegation accompanying him will meet the UP Chief Minister at his official residence here on Monday morning.

Rupani has arrived in Lucknow with his team and will have a series of meetings, including an interaction with the Gujarati samaj in the state capital. He will also address the media to give details of the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He is expected to return to Gujarat on Monday evening.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue, named as the Statue of Unity, will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31.

During the meeting, both the Chief Ministers and their officials would discuss various issues, including attacks on north Indians in Gujarat after a rape incident.

Earlier, the UP Chief Minister had expressed his concern over the security of north Indians living in Gujarat after the violence.

The Chief Minister is also likely to reiterate his request for land for construction of Uttar Pradesh Bhawan at Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat complex which will come up near the Statue of Unity.

Yogi had earlier written a letter to Rupani demanding land for construction of UP Bhawan.  In his letter on September 12, 2018, the UP Chief Minister had sought land around the Statue of Unity. 

“If Gujarat government gives land, the UP government will build a bhawan for the benefit of the people of Uttar Pradesh who visit Gujarat,” he said.

Yogi further wrote: “This is a great proposal of the Gujarat government to allow various state governments to build their own bhawans at Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat complex. This initiative is commendable.”

Once complete, the Statue of Unity will be the tallest statue of the world. It is being built at a cost of Rs 2989 crore. The work for this project began in December 2015.