Institutions built by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel being smashed: Rahul Gandhi takes dig at Modi

Sardar Patel, a statesman, was a senior Congress leader and the first Deputy Prime Minister of the country.

The statue has been referred to as the "Statue of Unity".

Following the unveiling of the statue, Rahul took to Twitter to say, "Ironic that a statue of Sardar Patel is being inaugurated, but every institution he helped build is being smashed. The systematic destruction of India's institutions is nothing short of treason."

In the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in-fight, Rahul has recently attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government for interfering in the probe into the alleged Rafale scam by the federal probe agency.

The statue, the tallest in the world, along with its surroundings occupies an area of 20,000 square meters.

Praising Sardar Patel, Modi said: "The connection between democracy and common people has been dedicated to Sardar Patel."

The monument along with its surroundings occupies an area of 20,000 square meters.

Image: twitter.com/PMOIndia

The foundation of the statue was laid in 2013.

Modi was serving as the Gujarat Chief Minister at that time.

Crediting the engineers who crafted the statue, the Prime Minister on Wednesday said: "The Statue of Unity is a symbol of our engineering and capabilities of ours techniques. For last three years, the engineers have worked on mission mode."

The statue was designed by India sculptor Ram V. Sutar.

Calling for a national unity, Modi said: "Our young generation now has the power of thought. The road shown by Sardar Patel is the only way to move forward. Sardar has given us the duty to keep the unity in diversity alive in the country."