President Murmu unveils statue of BR Ambedkar at Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, unveiled a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at the Supreme Court of India on the occasion of Constitution Day on Sunday.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and other Supreme Court judges were also present during the ceremony.

The 7-foot-tall statue of Dr Ambedkar is positioned on the front lawn of the Supreme Court premises. The statue adorns a lawyer’s gown and holds a copy of the Constitution in his hand. The decision to install the statue at the Supreme Court premises came after the request made by a group of Ambedkarite lawyers.

After unveiling the statue, the President and CJI also planted trees in front of Dr Ambedkar’s statue. The Constituent Assembly of India formally adopted the Constitution on this day in 1949, which came into force on January 26, 1950.  Dr BR Ambedkar was the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution of India.

Earlier during the day, various political leaders and parties also extended their wishes on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Taking to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Amit Shah said in a post, “Greetings to every citizen of our nation on Constitution Day. This day celebrates the values and principles of our constitution and commemorates the pains that its makers took to bestow upon the citizens the freedoms they enjoy.”
He further, in his post, urged the people to pledge to fortify the spirit of the sacred document by practising its values in letter and spirit.

Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, also took to his official account on ‘X’ and extended his wishes for Constitution Day to the people of the nation.

“The Constitution of India is the largest written constitution in the world. The Constitution of the country, prepared under the guidance of Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, is the identity of our rights and responsibilities; our Constitution itself is the pride of the democracy of the country,” read the post by Kejriwal.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1BRJjPdVPpQKw

“All of us countrymen are proud of our Constitution and we have to protect it together. Best wishes to all the countrymen on Constitution Day,” it added.

It was on November 26, 1949, that the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, keeping the wishes short and simple, posted on ‘X’, “Best wishes to all the countrymen on Constitution Day.” The Congress party also, in a post on ‘X’, remembered this day and urged the people to take a pledge for the constitution.

“This day commemorates the adoption of the Constitution of India on November 26, 1949. It was this sacred text that came to be the life and soul of our democracy. Let us all pledge to imbibe its values and defend it against the continuous assault under the present regime,” read the post by the Congress party.

Constitution Day is also known as Samvidhan Divas or National Law Day. (ANI)