Mhow (Madhya Pradesh): Thousands of devotees and political bigwigs made a beeline for Kalipaltan area of Mhow to pay tribute to the father of Indian Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 132nd birth anniversary, on Friday.
Among the thousands of Ambedkar’s devotees who came from Maharashtra was Ramesh Katare (60) of Dhaluka village of Buldhana district in Maharashtra told Free Press, "We have great love and respect for Babasaheb Ambedkar and we are not bothered about which party is in power in state or what arrangements have been made by the government for the devotees. We have been here for the last 35 years and will keep coming till our last breath".
Former Mhow MLA and BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was the first prominent political leader to reach the memorial at around 8 am and paid his respects to Babasaheb.
The band contingent of Samta Sainik Dal marched from Hariphatak square to the memorial and paid guard of honour to Dr Ambedkar. This was followed by the contingent of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which followed the same path and also paid their respect.
State Congress president Kamal Nath along with his supporters and members of Congress Seva Dal reached the memorial at 10.45 am. He garlanded the statue of Dr Ambedkar and then worshipped his Asthi Kalash before leaving for Indore. Criticising CM Chouhan, Nath said that he is a ‘farji’ CM and kept making the same promises year after year.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav along with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan and his supporters reached Ambedkar memorial at 12 pm.
Yadav was sporting the traditional red cap along with his supporters. Yadav and Ravan paid floral tributes at the statue of Dr Ambedkar amidst slogan ‘Jai Bhim-Jai Bhim’.
Interacting with reporters, Yadav said that Dr Ambedkar gave us the Constitution of India and today it is in danger, and all institutions are being broken, Yadav said, "Today I have come here for the first time and I have come with a fresh energy and determination. This place inspires everyone to follow the path shown by Babasaheb."
Governor Mangu Bhai Patel along with water resources minister Tulsiram Silawat reached the memorial at 1.10 pm and paid their respects. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also reached there.
Thereafter, Governor Patel and CM Chouhan unveiled the statue of Mahatma Buddha which has been recently been installed in the memorial premises. The statue has been donated by the family of Mhow Cantonment Board CEO Rajendra Jagtap.
Later, while speaking on the occasion, Chauhan said, "There was a long pending demand for additional land to provide various amenities for the devotees coming here. Central government has given three and a half acres of land and I have transferred the same land to the memorial society.”
Governor Mangu Bhai Patel, in his address talked about the virtues taught by Dr Ambedkar.
Chouhan said the government has made food arrangements for eighty thousand persons including devotees, social workers and government staff engaged in maintaining law and order during the whole celebration.
The only thing which was not liked by the devotees was construction of a large dome from the junction of Ram Mandir to the memorial. Due to it, there remained congestion of people throughout the day.
