Issue stamps, gold coins on Ambedkar's birth anniversay: Congress MP

NEW DELHI: A Congress MP has demanded the Centre to issue a postal stamp and gold coins weighing five and 10 grams to commemorate 125th birth anniversary year of Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar falling on April 14.

Bhalchandra Mungekar, Congress' Rajya Sabha MP, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

"I have written a letter to the Prime Minister seeking to issue an appropriate postal stamp and gold coins of five and ten grams to commemorate 125th birth anniversary year of Dr Ambedkar beginning from April 14, 2015," Mungekar said.

Dr Ambedkar Institute of Social and Economic Change, of which the MP is a founder-president, has planned to organize year-long programmes under the theme 'Samata Abhiyan '(Mission for Equality) across Maharashtra, he said.

The programme would focus on burning problems facing the SCs, STs, OBCs, nomadic and de-notified tribes, minorities, women and poor in general, Mungekar added.

The issues include simplification of procedure of issuing caste certificate, repealing Maharashtra Caste Certificate Validity Act, no diversion or lapsing of budgetary funds allocated under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled sub-Plans making separate development plan for the NT and DNTs in the state, strict implementation of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act through forming special track courts, providing five per cent reservation for socially and educationally backward Muslims amongst others.

The programmes will be organised in association with all like-minded organisations, Mungekar said.