Local authorities in Kullu have pulled out a 12-year-old plaque which is expected to be installed at the Atal Tunnel soon amid clarification by newly elected Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu that the tunnel’s name would not be changed.
The plaque bearing the names of Sonia Gandhi, former chief minister late Virbhadra Singh, then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, and then defence minister AK Antony dating back to June 10, 2010, will be reinstalled near the tunnel soon according to a decision taken by the Sukhu government soon after it came to power.
Amid threats by the BJP that it would resist any attempt to rename the tunnel, Sukhu had told the media that the state government would not do so but asserted that the plaque would be changed to include those who laid the foundation stone.
Sukhu told a news agency that the name of the tunnel would not be changed because he respected former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. “The name won’t be changed. We’re not renaming Atal Tunnel. We respect the former PM… but BJP should have upheld the dignity of those who laid the foundation stone…" the new chief minister said.
The Himachal BJP had threatened to launch a stir if the tunnel’s name was changed. “How can they stake claim over the tunnel? Sonia Gandhi only performed the ‘bhumi pujan’ but the entire construction work was undertaken by Vajpayee and the union government," said a BJP leader.
The row over the credit for the tunnel had started even before the Sukhu government took over. During the by-election to the Mandi parliamentary seat, which Congress leader Pratibha Singh won last year, former state chief of Congress party Kuldeep Singh Rathore had alleged that the plaque was missing and demanded its restoration. The local authorities had claimed that the plaque was with the agency that built the tunnel.
The Congress contended that the BJP government had ignored the fact that the foundation stone was laid by the then government at the Centre in 2010 and due credit should have been given.
Soon after the chief minister ordered restoration of the plaque, the local authorities had started looking for it. Official sources said the plaque will be installed near the tunnel soon after the state government’s instructions.
The 9.02-km-long Atal Tunnel that connects Manali in Himachal with Leh in the Union Territory of Ladakh is certified as the world’s longest highway tunnel which is built at 10,000 feet.
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