Nation remembers Dr. Ambedkar on his birthday

New Delhi, Apr 14: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today led the nation in paying homage to architect of the Constitution Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar on his 116th birth anniversary. The main function was held in the Central Hall of Parliament, where Leader of the Opposition L K Advani, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, MOS for Tribal Affairs P R Kyndiah, Kumari Nirmala Deshpande, M P Dr Faguni Ram, Mr O P Kohli, both former MPs, and Secretaries-General of both the Houses, Mr PDT Acharya (Lok Sabha) and Dr Yogendra Narain (Rajya Sabha) also paid homage to Dr Ambedkar.

On the occasion, a booklet, both in Hindi and English, containing the profile of Dr Ambedkar was also brought out by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

In the Delhi Assembly, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Speaker Prem Singh and other members of the state Assembly paid floral tributes to the potrait of Dr Ambedkar at a function.

Several programmes were held across the country to commemorate the occasion.

Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy, his cabinet collegues, MLAs and senior officials of the administration garlanded Dr Ambedkar's statue before the Legislative Assembly. Congress, DMK, AIADMK, BJP and Dalit organisation leaders also paid tributes.

In Puducherry, a Dalit organisation caused a flutter when it brought bricks and cement to highlight the demand for a roof over the statue, while volunteers of another Dalit outfit shouted slogans over the non-appointment of a Dalit as a Minister in the Rangasamy Government after the resignation of Mr Angalan.

In Andhra Pradesh, Social Welfare Minister D S Redya Naik said the government would provide scholarships to SC/ST students whose family income was not more than Rs one lakh, from this year. The government was also considering waiver of interest on loans taken by SC/STs, he said.

Similarly, in Sikkim, Chief Minister P K Chamling said the government will bear the expenses of poor students who want to pursue higher education abroad. Mr Chamling said the government would bear the expenses of the students wanting to study at Harvard, Oxford or Cambridge universities but whose parents could not afford it.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje laid the foundation stone for Bhimrao Ambedkar Accademy of Social Sciences and Advanced Study at Mundala village about 20 km from the city.

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.

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav said Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar struggled throughout his life for making a society based on equality.

''We should resolve to fulfilling his dreams, which would be a real tribute to him,'' Mr Yadav said on the occasion of Dr Ambedkar's anniversary.

Goa Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane, Union Ministers A Raja, S Reghupathy and G K Vasan, TNCC President K Krishnasamy, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko and Dalit Panthers of India General Secretary Thol Tirumavalavan, state ministers Arcot N Veerasamy, M K Stalin, Parithi Ilamvazhuti and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa also paid homage to Dr Ambedkar.

In Karnataka, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, his deputy B S Yediyurappa, Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly N Dharam Singh, KPCC President Mallikarjuna Kharge and several Ministers garlanded the life-size statue of Dr Ambedkar and paid respects.

In Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, unidentified miscreants desecrated an idol of Dr Ambedkar in Dannahar area of the district late last night.

Additional force has been deployed to avoid any violence.

An eminent jurist, constitutional expert, briliant parliamentarian and social worker, Dr Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the first Law Minister of India and was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.

UNI