Good to see Omar Abdullah enjoying visit to Statue of Unity: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (July 31, 2025) expressed happiness over Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah enjoying his visit to Gujarat, and said his visit to the Statue of Unity will inspire fellow Indians to travel to different parts of the country.

Mr. Abdullah was in Ahmedabad to attend a tourism event.

Mr. Modi said on X, "Kashmir to Kevadia! Good to see Shri Omar Abdullah Ji enjoying his run at the Sabarmati Riverfront and visiting the Statue of Unity. His visit to SoU gives an important message of unity and will inspire our fellow Indians to travel to different parts of India."

Earlier, Mr. Abdullah posted pictures of his morning run at the famed Sabarmati River Front promenade.

He said, "It's one of the nicest places I've been able to run and it was a pleasure to get to share it with so many other walkers/runners. I even managed to run past the amazing Atal Foot Bridge."

The 182-metre Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country's first home minister. It is situated near Ekta Nagar, previously known as Kevadia, in Narmada district.

Speaking to reporters standing on the wall of the dam at Ekta Nagar, Mr. Abdullah said he never imagined that these two structures would be so impressive.

"Both these structures are a true tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is known as the Iron Man of India. These structures are the symbols of new India. Just imagine that this dam helped us in providing water to arid regions like Kutch. People's lives changed because of this project," he said.

"We (the people of J&K) were not that fortunate, because we could never conceive such projects. Because we were not allowed to stop river waters. Now, when the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, we are seeing a ray of hope," said Mr. Abdullah.