With an eye on the large number of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe votes that could prove decisive in the coming legislative elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) observed the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar throughout the State with great fanfare on Sunday.
Welcoming visitors at the birthplace of Ambedkar in Mhow, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that if the Centre is unable to construct the memorial for Ambedkar in Delhi, it should hand over the task to the State Government here which is ready to build the memorial.
Paying tributes to Ambedkar, BJP State President Narendra Singh Tomar said in a meeting organized at Ramlalpura village in Jaura legislative seat of Morena that Ambedkar gave the message of social equality and also granted constitutional status to the rights of the people.
Tomar said that he had started the practice of organizing meeting of the gram sabha on Ambedkar’s birth anniversary when he was the Panchayat and Rural Development Minister in 2004.
“These meetings would facilitate in developing constitutional awareness and also an awareness towards the constitutional rights among the rural population residing in the villages,” Tomar said adding that Ambedkar and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee attacked social inequality by laying down an edifice of social harmony in the country.
“We should take the pledge of following the path laid by Ambedkar and dedicate our lives in the service of all the sections of society,”said earlier, former Chief Minister and parliamentarian Kailash Joshi paid floral tribute to the leader.
In Indore, Ambedkar was paid tribute by lighting candles at his statue at Geeta Bhawan Square. BJP State Organization Secretary Arvind Menon said that Ambedkar worked throughout his life for social integrity.
“However, the Congress always worked against him. It even put hurdles in his way to enter the Parliament. His views are like a lighthouse for us,” he said. In Ujjain, Ambedkar birth anniversary function was addressed by senior BJP leader Satya Narayan Jatia.
State Assembly Speaker Ishwardas Rohani said at a function held in Jabalpur that Ambedkar not only honoured the oppressed and exploited classes but he also gave them the protective shield of the constitution. Parliamentarian Rakesh Singh said that while Congress always created barriers in the way of Ambedkar, the Bharatiya Jan Sangh supported him.