Who's the tallest of them all?

Sardar Patel's bronze monolith cost nearly Rs 30 billion; Rama's statue topped by a glittering canopy will come at a heavier price

Size matters. In at least one respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s acolytes and allies have surpassed him in matters of towering ambition. In the statue-building spree that currently grips the nation, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath this week was talking up five construction firms for a statue of Lord Rama to come up in Ayodhya. Rama’s effigy will soar to 221 metres, that is, 39 metres higher than 182-metre Statue of Unity, Mr Modi’s dream project — closely monitored and fast-tracked by the prime minister’s office — that he unveiled on the banks of the Narmada this month. 

Sardar Patel’s