President, PM, political leaders pay tribute to Ambedkar on death anniversary
Ambedkar came from a Dalit family and rose to become one of the most important figures in Indian politics with his championing of the cause of the underprivileged
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leaders cutting across party lines paid tributes to BR Ambedkar, the main architect of the Constitution, on his death anniversary on Friday (December 6).
Modi said Ambedkar’s tireless fight for equality and human dignity continues to inspire generations.
Ambedkar came from a Dalit family and rose to become one of the most important figures in Indian politics with his championing of the cause of the underprivileged.
PM’s tribute
“On Mahaparinirvan Diwas, we bow to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution and a beacon of social justice,” Modi wrote on X.
“Dr Ambedkar’s tireless fight for equality and human dignity continues to inspire generations. Today, as we remember his contributions, we also reiterate our commitment to fulfilling his vision,” Modi said.
The prime minister also shared a picture from his visit to Chaityabhoomi, the cremation place of Ambedkar in Mumbai earlier this year.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to BR Ambedkar on his death anniversary at Prerna Sthal on the Parliament House premises, in New Delhi, on Friday | PTI
President Droupadi Murmu paid floral tributes to Ambedkar in Bhubaneswar.
Murmu, who is on a five-day visit to Odisha, reached AG Square and offered her tributes to Ambedkar before leaving the city for her native village at Uparneda in Mayurbhanj district.
Murmu is scheduled to visit the Uparbeda government higher primary school, her alma mater, where she spent her early years as a student.
Need to defend ideals of Ambedkar: Kharge
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took to X to say that there is a pressing need to defend, protect, and safeguard the ideals of Ambedkar as also his “finest” contribution — the Constitution of India.
“On the Mahaparinirvan Diwas of Babasaheb Dr Ambedkar, we express our heartfelt gratitude to the ardent champion of the Constitution and social justice,” Kharge said in a post on X.
He said Ambedkar devoted his entire life to championing the democratic values of liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice.
“It is a pressing need of the hour to defend, protect and safeguard his ideals and ideas, as also his finest contribution to the nation — the Constitution of India,” the Congress chief said.
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Maharashtra leaders pay tribute
In Maharashtra, Governor CP Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were among the leaders who paid rich tributes to Ambedkar at the Chaityabhoomi, where deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were also present.
Lakhs of followers of Ambedkar converged at his memorial, Chaityabhoomi, at Shivaji Park in Mumbai’s Dadar area to pay tributes to the social reformer on his death anniversary, observed as the ‘Mahaparinirvan Din’.
In a post on X, Fadnavis, who took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening, said, “Humble tributes to a great visionary, an ocean of knowledge, the architect of the Indian Constitution Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on Mahaparinirvan Din.”
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Messages from leaders
Deputy CM Shinde said in a social media post that Ambedkar was the architect of the Indian Constitution who laid the foundation of modern India.
Deputy CM Pawar said in his X post that Ambedkar made the Constitution of India which laid the foundation of human values. “He taught unity, equality, brotherhood and justice to the entire human race. By adopting the thoughts of Babasaheb, we are committed to take everyone forward in the journey of equal justice and development,” he said.
NCP(SP) chief and former Union minister Sharad Pawar said, “Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, who created a people’s state in India by writing a democratic Constitution, made his invaluable contribution to eradicate social discrimination and fought for the rights of workers and women. Millions of salutations to the creator of modern India on Mahaparinirvan Din.”
(With agency inputs)