CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi — by revoking Article 370 — had paid real tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar, who played a significant role in the framing of the Indian Constitution.
He said that Dr BR Ambedkar had then opposed inclusion of Article 370 in the Constitution so as to uphold the political integrity, unity and diversity of the country.
The chief minister was speaking as the chief guest at a programme organised on the occasion of 130th birth anniversary of Ambedkar held in Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
Vidhan Sabha speaker Gian Chand Gupta said, ”This is the first time that the birth anniversary of Babasaheb is being celebrated in the assembly premises after the installation of his statue.”
Gian Chand Gupta also thanked the chief minister for attending the programme and said that Modi, while following the path of Antyodaya as shown by Babasaheb, has ensured the upliftment of the poorest of the poor.
Khattar said that Ambedkar always believed that only through education the person standing last in the queue can be brought into the mainstream.
Babasaheb always believed in the theory that every person should spend half of his money on education and half on his other basic needs like food etc, he added.
The chief minister said that Babasaheb served as the chancellor of a law university and also served as the chairman of the governing body of Delhi's well-known Ramjas College.
He was a known educationist who always spoke about the importance of education, said Khattar.
The chief minister said that Ambedkar, along with highlighting the importance of fundamental rights, has also talked about duties in the Constitution.
“In our democracy, through programmes organised on the birth anniversary of Babasaheb in parliamentary premises like Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha, we can pay our true respects to these great men as these premises are the platform that truly reflects the definition of the Constitution,” said Khattar.
The chief minister said that such programmes should be organised in the Vidhan Sabha.
He said that on March 5, 2021, during the budget session, the statue of Babasaheb was also unveiled in the premises of Haryana Vidhan Sabha.
Khattar added that Ambedkar was known as the most learned Indian.
Since his young age, his inclination towards education was such that even in those times he had stocked his personal library with more than 50,000 books.
Through education, he gave the message of social harmony to society and "every one of us should move forward on the path shown by Ambedkar", Khattar said.