Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy led the state in paying rich tributes to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, father of the Indian Constitution, on his 133 birth anniversary here on Sunday.
Reddy garlanded the statue of Dr Ambedkar at Tank Bund. Joining him were MLA Danam Nagender, Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Yadav and Khairatabad Congress leader Vijaya Reddy.
At Goshamahal police station, senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao garlanded Dr Ambedkar's statue, which was relocated from Punjagutta a few months back.
BJP state chief and Union minister G. Kishan Reddy called on the family members of those whom Dr Ambedkar had met during his visit to the city on January 12, 1953, to receive a honorary doctorate from Osmania University. He said that Dr Ambedkar had a special association with Hyderabad.
Kishan Reddy visited three places in the city, including Victory playground, Kattambai basti in Adikmet and Mozamjahi market. Members from the SC Welfare Association of Kattambai and from families of Ambedkar had invited Kishan Reddy to visit the basti to celebrate the birth anniversary.
BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao paid tributes to Dr Ambedkar and said that 1,022 gurukul schools were established to realise his ideals. This, he said, was done as the party also perceives that development and progress are possible only with education.
Addressing party cadre at Telangana Bhavan, Rama Rao said, “Statehood was achieved following the teachings of Dr Ambedkar to educate, agitate and organise for 14 years. The government was run by following his path. Many products of gurukul schools are now pursuing higher education in reputed educational institutions.”
Only then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao could have named the Secretariat after Dr Ambedkar who was as tall a leader as Mahatma Gandhi at that time, he said.
“All the programmes chalked out by us were in line with the thinking of the leader. Even Columbia University recognised him as the father of modern India. To bring equality in society, work should be continued on the path laid by the constitution,” Rama Rao said.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that Dr Ambedkar had sent a message that oppression and discrimination in the society will not end magically. He believed that it had to be defeated through democratic struggle and participating in parliamentary democracy.
In a statement, Owaisi said that 22.3 per cent of India's higher castes own 41 per cent of the country’s total wealth and form the richest group, whereas 7.8 per cent of STs own only 3.7 per cent, or the lowest wealth share of the country's assets.
