Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday announced that a statue of freedom icon Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will be installed at India Gate in Delhi. Sharing an image on Twitter, the PM said that a hologram of Netaji would be put up the spot until the statue was ready.

The statue of Netaji would be 28 feet by 6 feet and will stand at the spot where the statue of England’s King George V once stood.

The PM wrote on Twitter, “At a time when the entire nation is marking the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, I am glad to share that his grand statue, made of granite, will be installed at India Gate. This would be a symbol of India's indebtedness to him”.

He added, “Till the grand statue of Netaji Bose is completed, a hologram statue of his would be present at the same place. I will unveil the hologram statue on 23rd January, Netaji's birth anniversary”.

The government also announced recently that Netaji’s birth anniversary on January 23 would mark the start of Republic Day celebrations instead of a day later.

Notably, his birthday was also named “Parakram Divas”.

The announcement came as the Centre decided to merge the two eternal flames, one at India Gate and the other at the National War Memorial, drawing flak from sections of people.