- Saturday, February 15, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian politicians obsession for huge statues was seen once more on Friday (14) when the chief minister of the southern state of Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao, unveiled an 125-feet tall statue of BR Ambedkar, the father of Indian Constitution and an iconic Dalit leader, in the state capital of Hyderabad on the occasion of his 122nd birth anniversary.
Flower petals were showered on the statue from a helicopter as a mark of tribute to the leader.
The 125 feet tallest statue of Dr BR Ambedkar statue showered with flowers from a helicopter ?#JaiBhim #JaiTelangana pic.twitter.com/LE7tFy9jfF
— BRS News (@BRSParty_News) April 14, 2023
The statue is made of 360 tonnes of stainless steel and 114 tonnes of bronze and at a cost of Rs 146.50 crore.
Rao, who leads Bharat Rashtra Samithi political party and is a major opposition face to prime minister Narendra Modi, said the statue of Ambedkar, which is located next to Telangana Martyrs Memorial, will inspire people every day and motive the state’s administration.
Ambedkar’s grandson Prakash Ambedkar, president of Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi, was also present on the occasion.
Modi on Friday also paid tribute to Ambedkar, saying in a tweet that the late leader dedicated his life to the empowerment of the deprived and the exploited sections of society.
समाज के वंचित और शोषित वर्ग के सशक्तिकरण के लिए अपना जीवन समर्पित करने वाले पूज्य बाबासाहेब को उनकी जयंती पर शत-शत नमन। जय भीम! pic.twitter.com/yssVzjMpnL
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2023
The prime minister also posted an audio clip of his earlier remarks on Ambedkar’s life.
Born in 1891 in a Dalit family in the western state of Maharashtra, Ambedkar rose from a humble background to become a leading voice of the marginalised people during the freedom struggle and is credited with introducing several social reforms.
Indian president Droupadi Murmu, home minister Amit Shah and other leaders across the country also paid tributes to Ambedkar.
(With agency inputs)
