Days after the Maharashtra government announced Rs. 100 crore in the State budget to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the Arabian Sea, the Republican Party of India (RPI) has sought one for Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, also in the sea.
Rajya Sabha MP and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale presented a proposal to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. The RPI is a partner in the BJP-led State and Central governments.
“We have asked the CM to study it. If he backs it we can begin a search for the location,” he said after meeting Mr. Fadnavis.
As per the party proposal, the statue can be built in the sea waters between Chaityabhoomi (where Dr. Ambedkar was cremated) and Indu mill (which will be soon turned into a memorial for Dr. Ambedkar).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to lay the foundation stone for the memorial on the mill premises on April 14.
However, the ceremony has been postponed to May as Mr. Modi will be on a foreign trip in April.
