Shimla, Dec 13 (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday said it will take to the streets if a plaque bearing the name of former prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee at the Atal Tunnel is removed by the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.

This came a day after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the issue of "restoration" of a plaque declaring that the foundation stone for the Atal Tunnel was laid by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will be taken up with the concerned authorities.

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Vajpayee had announced the project during a public meeting at Lahaul-Spiti's Keylong in June 2000. He had laid the foundation stone for an approach road to the tunnel in 2002.

"Sonia Gandhi had only performed the 'bhumi pujan', while the entire work was undertaken by Vajpayee and the Union government," Himachal Pradesh BJP spokesperson Randhir Sharma said here.

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He warned that the BJP will hold a protest if the plaque bearing Vajpayee's name is removed.

The state Congress had protested after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the tunnel on October 3, 2020, alleging that the foundation stone laid by Gandhi on June 28, 2010 had been removed before its opening.

Gandhi had laid the foundation stone for the tunnel as the then chairperson of the National Advisory Council, according to a release issued by the Himachal Pradesh government on Monday.

In the release, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the plaque has been "missing", which is an "insult to democracy". It must be restored at the earliest, he demanded.

Himachal Pradesh Police had on October 14, 2020 said the foundation stone was secure with the construction company which built the tunnel.

The 9.02-km Atal Tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in the world, connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti Valley.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)