‘Won't change Atal Tunnel name, we respect former PM. But...’: Himachal CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said Monday the state government would not change the name of the Atal Tunnel - built under the Rohtang Pass - but added that the name on the plaque would be changed to include those who laid the foundation stone.

Sukhu told news agency ANI the name of the tunnel would not be changed because he respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a former prime minister. "The name won't be changed. We're not renaming Atal Tunnel. We respect the former PM... but BJP should've upheld dignity of those who laid the foundation stone..." the new chief minister said.

The chief minister's comment comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party threatened to take to the streets if the new Congress government removed the plaque honouring Vajpayee.

"Sonia Gandhi only performed the 'bhumi pujan'... entire work was undertaken by Vajpayee and the union government," Randhir Sharma, the spokesperson for the BJP's state unit, said.

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The BJP's sharp response came after Sukhu said the plaque bearing the names of Sonia Gandhi; late former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, then the union minister; then chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal; and then defence minister AK Antony would be reinstalled.

A war over credit for the tunnel erupted before the Lok Sabha bypoll for the Mandi seat, when Kuldeep Singh Rathore - the former state chief of the Congress' state unit - alleged the plaque was missing. Police later said the plaque was with the agency that built the tunnel.

The Congress has argued that before prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the tunnel - in October 2020 - the foundation stone was laid by Sonia Gandhi - in June 2010.

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 (built above 10,000 feet).