MP: Former CM Kamal Nath, Kailash Vijayvargiya pay tribute to Dr Ambedkar at his birthplace in Mhow

 Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath and Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya were among thousands of people who paid tribute to Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his 132nd birth anniversary at his birthplace in Mhow near Indore on Friday.

Vijayvargiya, a former Mhow MLA, along with about 1,000 supporters reached Dr Ambedkar’s memorial at Mhow around 8 am. He garlanded the statue of the Dalit icon and bowed down before the ‘Asthikalash’ (urn containing the ashes of Dr Ambedkar). Nath also paid his respects at the Ambedkar memorial and the Asthikalash.

A band contingent of Samta Sainik Dal, an organisation of the followers of the architect of the Indian Constitution, marched from Hariphatak square to the memorial and paid guard of honour to their leader. Ambedkar, a social reformer, economist and jurist, was born on April 14, 1891, in Mhow town, which has been renamed as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in his memory.

A group of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers also marched on through the same route and paid respects to the Dalit icon. “We have great love and respect for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and are not bothered about which party is in the government or what arrangements have been made by the government for the followers. We have been coming here for the last 35 years and will keep coming till our last breath,” Ramesh Katare (60), a resident of Dhaluka village in Buldhana district of Maharashtra, told PTI. MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and many other leaders are expected to visit Mhow during the day.