Ambedkar remembered on 116th birth anniversary

Mumbai, Apr 14 (UNI) Rich tributes were paid to Father of the Indian Constitution Dr B R Ambedkar on the occasion of his 116th birth anniversary here today.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, his deputy R R Patil and Social Justice Minister Chandrakant Handore visited Chaityabhoomi at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, the memorial of the late leader and paid floral tributes.

Lakhs of followers of Dr Ambedkar who arrived in the city from different parts of the state and country also offered prayers at Chaityabhoomi.

Functions to mark the birth anniversary were also held by Congress, NCP and various Republican Party of India (RPI) factions.

Dr Ambedkar was the founder of RPI.

Dr B R Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a Constitution for Independent India.

He played a seminal role in the framing of the Constitution.

Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B R Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

UNI