B.R. Ambedkar's memorial in Mhow still under Army control
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanded the Centre to give the state permanent ownership of the land on which the memorial of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar stands.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday led the nation in paying homage to Babsaheb Ambedkar on his 122nd birth anniversary.
In Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanded Centre to give the state permanent ownership of the land on which the memorial of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar stands.
Chouhan was addressing a gathering at the birth place of Ambedkar on the occasion of the latter's 122nd birth anniversary.
"The land on which the memorial stands is owned by the defence ministry. If we are given permanent ownership of the land, we are ready to compensate it by offering the land twice the size of the current plot to the defence ministry," Chouhan said.
Ambedkar was born in Mhow cantonment town on April 14, 1891 and the state government has built a grand memorial at his birth place in Kali Paltan area.
Chouhan said if the Centre hands over the land to the state government, it will eliminate many procedural hassles and help his government in better organisation of the annual function in memory of Ambedkar.
"The government faces a lot of difficulty in getting permission from the Army for making preparations for the anniversary celebrations. This year we got the clearance barely five days ago and that too when I spoke to Defence Minister, A K Antony on the issue, leaving us with very little time to make arrangements for the celebration" Chouhan said.
During his speech, the Chief Minister appealed to Central government to build a grand memorial of Ambedkar in New Delhi where he breathed his last.
The function was also addressed by the Madhya Pradesh SC/ST Commission Chiarman, Dr Indresh Gajbhiye.
BJP MP from Indore, Sumitra Mahajan, Congress General Secretary In-charge of Madhya Pradesh, B K Hariprasad, State Congress chief, Kantilal Bhuria and former MLA Antar Singh Darbar were among those who paid floral tributes to the dalit icon on the occasion.
Similar functions commemorating Ambedkar's birth anniversary were also held in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior and Jabalpur and attended by his followers and political fraternity.
With Agency inputs