Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, today, 25 December on the occasion of the 101st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
At around 2.30 pm, the Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate Rashtra Prerna Sthal and also address a public gathering on the occasion, according to an official release.
The Rashtra Prerna Sthal has been developed as a landmark national memorial and inspirational complex of enduring national significance, it said.
What's inside the complex?
Spread over 65 acres on Hardoi Road on the outskirts of Lucknow, the complex features 65-feet-high bronze statues of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) icon – Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Each statue weighs 42 tonnes and has a water body surrounding their platforms.
Constructed at an approximate cost of ₹230 crore, the complex is envisioned as a permanent national asset dedicated to fostering leadership values, national service, cultural consciousness, and public inspiration, according to an official statement. It was developed under the Basant Kunj scheme of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and the work began in 2022.
The state-of-the-art museum
The memorial also houses a state-of-the-art museum designed in the form of a lotus-shaped structure, spread over approximately 98,000 square feet. The museum showcases India's national journey and the contributions of these visionary leaders through advanced digital and immersive technologies, offering visitors an engaging and educational experience.
The museam has five galleries and 12 interpretation walls dedicated to three leaders. In two rooms, orientation films on their lives will be screened.
The history of the formation of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), the ideological predecessor of BJP, is also displayed. Poems and speeches of Vajpayee, nationalist quotes by Mookerjee and Upadhyaya, and audio presentations highlighting their contributions to nation-building are among the many features of the memorial.
The Rashtra Prerna Sthal is envisioned as a permanent national asset dedicated to fostering leadership values, national service, and cultural consciousness.
The complex will open to the public after its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.
An amphitheatre, with a capacity to seat 3,000 people, a meditation hall, a yoga centre, a musical block, helipads, and rally ground that can hold over 2 lakh people are also part of the memorial.
