PM Narendra Modi to do 'bhoomi pujan' for Ambedkar Foundation

NEW DELHI: On a day when BSP supremo Mayawati slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for ignoring Dalit icons while awarding Bharat Ratna, a Union Minister today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do the 'bhoomi pujan' for the Bhimrao Ambedkar Foundation in the city here.

Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thawar Chand Gehlot said Modi will take part in the ceremony at Janpath in Lutyen's Delhi on January 31. Gehlot was speaking at the National Executive meeting of BJP's SC Morcha here.

Addressing the gathering, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said it was the BJP which had decided to observe Ambedkar Jayanti.

Singh also said that under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna, Modi has directed MPs to work for the upliftment of backward classes and the downtrodden.

Meanwhile, BJP's organisation in-charge Ramlal said that if the party is able to win nine of the 12 reserved seats in Delhi, then it will form the government here following the upcoming Assembly elections.