CPIM MP John Brittas wants Ambedkar Jayanti to be declared as public holiday

New Delhi: John Brittas, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP on Monday moved a motion in the Upper House of the Parliament, demanding to declare April 14, the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, as a public holiday in the country.

In a motion, Brittas said, "The government has been following the practice 14th of April every year as a "closed holiday" on year-to-year basis for the last several decades, that too only a couple of days in advance on most of the occasions, irrespective of repeated demands from various quarters of the society to declare the same as a regular 'public holiday' under Sec 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881."

He also urged the government to take immediate steps to declare Ambedkar Jayanti as a regular 'public holiday' under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and implement it from next calendar year onwards.