Ambedkarites, Leftists hold mega rally

At least 20,000 followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on Tuesday marched from Bycula to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) under the leadership of Prakash alias Balasaheb Ambedkar, grandson of Dr Ambedkar; senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury and Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) leader Kanhaiya Kumar. The morcha was organised in protest of the demolition of Ambedkar Bhavan at Dadar (east).

The rally — which was disciplined, but caused a traffic jam in South Mumbai — started from Byculla Zoo at 12.30 pm and reached CST around 2 pm.

Addressing the gathering at CST , Mr Kumar said, “The Bhavan is a historical building and we can’t allow anybody to destroy it. Will the government demolish historical buildings such as CST, BMC building or Taj Mahal to build multi-storey towers ”

He further slammed the BJP and termed the Union government’s celebrations of Dr Ambedkar’s125th birth anniversary a drama. “They talk about Samrasata (harmony) but are silent on Samata (equality). Both should go hand in hand. The attempt to demolish the Bhavan was made so that the people would not read about Babasaheb’s ideas. If they read about them, they would become Rohith Vemula, which will prevent ‘Sanghwad’ (RSS ideology) from flourishing. The Bhavan spreads Babasaheb’s ideology across the country. We must fight to preserve it,” said Mr Kumar.

Slamming the state government for ordering an inquiry against civic officials, he said the BJP should apologise to the country for demolishing the Bhavan.

Mr Ambedkar questioned the state government’s delay in ordering an inquiry. “The government has woken up today after the rally. The language of the chief minister has changed today after seeing the public on the road,” he said, adding that attempts were being made to destroy Opposition parties and their ideologies.