With Congress going on an overdrive to celebrate B R Ambedkar's birth anniversary, BJP today stepped up its campaign with its president Amit Shah asking workers to hold nationwide events tomorrow and take the Dalit icon's idea to people.
"Ambedkar was not merely a leader of Dalits but of all sections of society and every religion. BJP will organise programmes at local level across the country to mark his 125th birth anniversary and take his message to the people," he told a meeting of the party's SC 'Morcha'.
Trying to strike a chord with Dalits, who are electorally crucial and are being wooed by major parties ahead of important state assembly elections, Shah said BJP governments in different states had developed places associated with Ambedkar like Nagpur and Mumbai and the Centre was working to develop the place in London where he stayed for years.
Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the Ambedkar International Centre in the capital on April 20, BJP General Secretary Ramlal said the party would run a year-long Social Equality Campaign.
Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot spoke about various welfare measures the government was running.
Morcha head Dushyanat Kumar Gautam said it would launch a book next month which will highlight various aspects of Ambedkar's life.
