A revolution, not a statue, says CM KCR

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who unveiled the imposing 125-foot statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar here on Friday, declared that the country's tallest bronze statue of the architect of the Indian Constitution was not a "mere statue" but rather a "revolution" that would usher in change in the country.

The CM used the opportunity to criticise his political rivals, saying that they "might not digest this, just one spark is enough to ignite the fire and spread it across the nation" as he unveiled the statue in a grand ceremony to mark Dr B.R. Ambedkar's 132nd birthday in the presence of Prakash Ambedkar, his grandson.

The CM exuded confidence that the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) would form the government at the Centre after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as he unveiled the statue, which was designed to be a naturalistic image of Dr Ambedkar dressed in his trademark attire, clutching a copy of the Constitution in his left hand and pointing to the way forward with the right hand.

"This is a revolution, not a statue. This is not a symbolic structure, but a guide to realising the dreams of Telangana people," he said at a public meeting after the event, adding that he would put not only Telangana but the country on the path shown by Dr Ambedkar. “I shall work until the last drop of my blood to lead the nation in the values, ideals, and principles laid down by Ambedkar,” he declared.

Dr Ambedkar was a political liberal who supported the values of liberty, equality and fraternity, Rao said and stressed the importance of implementing an action plan to fulfil his vision and ideal of creating a society based on these values. "We celebrate Ambedkar jayanti every year. We sing songs and hold cultural programmes. We voice our outrage at societal injustices, inequalities and discrimination. The Indian Constitution written by Ambedkar has been in effect for more than 70 years. However, there is an urgent need to bring an action plan to achieve the ideals and principles of Ambedkar."

Rao stated that the BRS was gaining a lot of support in Maharashtra and that the country was looking for an ideal leader and the right party. "Our political rivals might not digest this, just one spark was enough to ignite the fire and spread it across the nation. BRS started activities in Maharashtra. It is receiving overwhelming response from people there. This will soon spread to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and even Bengal. I am sure that it will be our government at the Centre after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," the CM asserted, stating that it requires self-confidence to make such statements.

“During Telangana statehood agitation at the time of introduction of the AP bifurcation Bill in Parliament, I announced that I am leaving for Delhi from AP and will step in Telangana. It happened. Now I say after the 2024 elections, our government will be formed at the Centre. We have seen political parties winning or losing elections all these years but I want to bring in politics where people should win," Rao remarked.

Once in power at the Centre, Rao stated that his government would expand the Dalit Bandhu scheme, which is currently being implemented in Telangana, across the country by extending it to 25 lakh families each year.

The CM announced the institution of the Dr B.R. Ambedkar award, which would be bestowed to eminent personalities in recognition of their services in different fields. The CM declared a '51-crore corpus on behalf of the state government for these awards. He said the corpus would earn an annual interest of '3 crore, which would be utilised for the Dr Ambedkar awards to be presented every year on April 14.