Rama Krishna Sangem
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao unveiled a 125 feet, tallest in India, statue of Dr BR Ambedkar on the banks of historic Hussain Sangar lake in Hyderabad on April 14, Friday, the late leader’s 132nd birth anniversary. KCR termed this statue as a revolution for the welfare of depressed classes and vowed to follow the path of the chief architect of Indian Constitution.
KCR kept his promise he made 8 years ago to install a 125 ft statue of Ambedkar in Hyderabad as a mark of gratitude for paving way for formation of Telangana state through Article 3 of the Constitution. After a long search for feasibility of such a tall statue, the government could finally deliver the promise. The imposing statue was installed on a premises of 11 acres with a total cost of around Rs 146 crore.
The unveiling of the statue took place in the presence of Dr Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, a three time MP and Dalit theoretician. Entire Cabinet of KCR and top officials were present at the launch of the statue on the evening of Ambedkar’s Jayanthi. Around 30,000 people joined the celebrations that followed the statue inauguration. Choppers showered flower petals from skies.
BRS policies pathbreaking
CM KCR said that his government has been following the path and ideals of Dr Ambedkar right from the formation of Telangana state. He said that even after 75 years of Independence, India is home to a large number of poor, most of them are obviously from Scheduled Castes (SCs), or Dalits. “Our policies are intended to remove poverty from the face of our country,” he claimed.
Explaining the concept of Dalit Bandhu, a scheme which provides one time grant of Rs 10 lakh to each Dalit family to start their own ventures, KCR said this kind of programme has never been implemented not only in India, but also in the world. “I have launched Dalit Bandhu not because anyone asked for it. We wanted to bring our Dalits on par with others in society,” said KCR.
Referring to Prakash Ambedkar’s speech earlier, CM KCR said that his newly launched BRS would come to power at the Centre soon. “Prakash Ji asked me to fill the void of leadership at the nation level. We will do that. I tell you that our government is coming to power at the Centre soon,” said the CM. KCR also outlined several other schemes launched by him to benefit Dalits in Telangana.
The 125 ft tall statue will remind officials and general public of the ideals of the late leader as it comes stands next to the newly built State Secretariat, which too is named after Dr Ambedkar. On the occasion, KCR has presented documents allotting 2 acres of land in the city to Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A Rs 50 crore corpus fund is set up to present with Rs 3 crore worth annual awards in the name of Dr Ambedkar from now on.
