Cong did not organise ‘Ambedkar Mahakumbh’: Chouhan

Bhopal: Taking a dig at Congress, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said that history would never forgive Congress because it made a sin of getting defeated election to Babasaheb, who had made the Constitution.

Chouhan made this remark while addressing a huge gathering at a mega event, ‘Ambedkar Mahakumbh’ organised in Gwalior on the celebration of Bhim Rao Ambedkar’s 132nd birth anniversary.

“Congress neither celebrated ‘Ambedkar Mahakumbh’ nor built Babasaheb’s memorial during its long period of the government’s tenures. They built the monuments of Nehru ji and his family members instead of Babasaheb,” CM Chouhan said.

“I am feeling proud to say that a grand memorial of Babasaheb has been built in Mhow (Ambedkar Nagar) in MP, his birthplace, by the BJP government. It will be expanded to construct amenities for the pilgrims as the Defence Ministry has given NOC for it,” the CM said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a hypothesis to establish ‘panchteerths’, the five important places related to Dr B R Ambedkar’s life, they are Mhow (the birthplace), London (education land), Nagpur (ground of initiation), and Delhi and Mumbai (both the Parinirvana lands). These sites are being developed by our governments, the CM added. Chouhan also said that these ‘panchteeraths’ would be included under the state-run MukhyamantriTeerth Darshan Yojana, and the pilgrims would be sent by air too to visit the sites including London.

Talking about the welfare and development works being done under the various schemes by the government, Chouhan said that he was working on a five-point revolution such as education, employment, living-house land, women’s empowerment and respect. Making a series of announcements to the Schedule Caste community during the event, Chouhan said that the government has extended the criteria of income from Rs 6 to 8 lakh to pay the fees of the SC students for higher education in the country as well as abroad.

During the event, Chouhan launched and laid the foundation stones of the hostels, worth Rs 61.33 crore for SC students. He also distributed the benefits to the beneficiaries under the various schemes run by the government for the SC community. He also observed an exhibition put on at the event venue highlighting the life of BR Ambedkar. He welcomed and honoured the Kabirpanathi and Buddhist saints of the community at the outset of the event. Chouhan also inaugurated a help portal, ‘Mitra’ innovated by the Gwalior district administration for the inmates of SC hostels.

CM also announced that a separate Board would be formed for every sub-caste of the SC category to look into the matter of welfare of the particular community and the chairperson of the welfare body would be given the status of minister. On the demand of the public, he also announced that an Ambedkar Dham, a structure-like Babasaheb memorial, would be set up in Gwalior.

The CM also said that the government has decided that a temple of Saint Ravidas would be constructed at a cost of Rs 100 crore in Sagar. He appealed to the audience to contribute a brick from every village of the state for the temple and send it to the site by holding a mega yatra. On this occasion, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, BJP state chief VD Sharma also addressed the event. MP Home Minister Narottam Mishra, Commercial Tax Minister Jagdish Devda and other Cabinet members of the Shivraj-led government, MP, and MLAs were also present.