Shimla

Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Monday unveiled a statue of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh at Daulat Singh Park on the historic Ridge Ground in Shimla.

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Gandhi, accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, paid floral tributes to the late leader.

The six-foot-tall bronze statue is placed near statues of notable leaders such as Dr YS Parmar, the first chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mahatma Gandhi and former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Scion of the Rampur-Bushahr royal family, Virbhadra Singh first took office as chief minister on April 8, 1983 and spent the next four decades in public life, becoming the CM five more times. He died in 2021 after a prolonged illness.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, HPCC president and Virbhadra's wife, Pratibha Singh, as well as Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, and Deepender Hooda were present at the event.

State party in charge Rajni Patil and Congress leader Rajiv Shukla also attended the statue unveiling.

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There was a huge turnout at the event and police have beefed up security measures.