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On Sunday, 14 April, President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi paid their tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, on his 128th birth anniversary.
In a video tribute on Twitter, Modi said, "He (Ambedkar) is an inspiration to crores of people, including me. It is not necessary for a person to be born in a rich family. In India, a person born in a poor family can also dream of big things and can achieve them."
He tweeted in Hindi, "I pay my homage to the chief architect of Indian Constitution and a person who has worked for social justice – Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar – on his birth anniversary. Jai hind!"
"Homage to Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary. An icon of our nation, and Chief Arhitect of the Constitution, Dr Ambedkar waged a life-long struggle for a modern India free of caste and other prejudices, ensuring equal rights for women and weaker sections," President Kovind tweeted.
Dr BR Ambedkar, commonly referred to as Babasaheb, dedicated his life to working towards bettering the lives of different facets of the society, especially untouchables and women.
Born on 14 April 1891 into a poor Dalit family, he was independent India's first law minister. He is also remembered for being the primary architect of the Indian Constitution.
He is credited with encouraging and influencing the Dalit Buddhist Movement in 1956 and campaigned against the social discrimination. This was later transformed into the Neo-Buddhism movement.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi also had a message to share where he asked everyone to “re-dedicate ourselves to the 4 universal values of JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY & FRATERNITY enshrined in our Constitution.”
A lot of people remembered Dr Ambedkar and paid their respects to him:
Speaking at a programme held to celebrate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "Babasaheb used to say that the Dalit society's uplift will be possible when they become educated.... We have started working in that direction." He added that prior to the formation of the BJP government, Ambedkar's photos were not put up at government offices. "When we assumed office, the first thing we did was put up Babasaheb's photographs at all the government offices," he said.
Adityanath later tweeted saying, "I bow down in reverence of Bharat Ratna Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, an apostle of equality & freedom, and whose work left an indelible mark on making of New India."
BJP National Vice President and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted saying that “this country will forever be in BR Ambedkar’s debt.”
Even Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh (retired), tweeted on this occasion:
(Inputs from PTI and ANI)
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