RPI demands land for Ambedkar memorial, blocks highway
December 15th, 2011 - 3:32 pm ICT by IANS
Mumbai, Dec 15 (IANS) Republican Party of India (RPI) activists staged a road blockade on the Eastern Express highway here Thursday to press their demand for 12.5 acres of a mill land in Dadar, central Mumbai, for a proposed memorial to Dalit icon Babasaheb Ambedkar.
The protest came in the wake of the central government announcing that it will allot four acres of the Indu Mill land at Dadar instead of the entire 12.5-acre plot for the proposed Dr Ambedkar memorial.
“We will strike with fresh protests if we are not allotted the entire 12.5-acre plot of the Indu Mill land for the memorial,” RPI chief Ramdas Athawale told IANS.
“It is the central government land and we will not rest till we get it,” he added.
Party workers blocked traffic on the Eastern Express highway and burnt effigies of union ministers and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press their demands.
In the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Textiles Panabaka Lakshmi Wednesday made an announcement that the National Textile Corporation would part with four acres for the memorial.
On Dec 6 (Ambedkar Jayanti), adopting an aggressive stance, nearly a thousand RPI activists broke police barricades and “captured” the Indu Mill compound in Dadar, demanding allotment of the land for constructing a memorial to Babasaheb Ambedkar.
- RPI ransack mill, demand land for Ambedkar memorial - Dec 15, 2011
- Dalit party threat to recapture Indu Mills land - Mar 06, 2012
- Ambedkar memorial: Dalit activists attempt to storm legislature - Mar 15, 2012
- Ambedkar Jayanti celebrated; Dalits stage sit-in (Lead) - Apr 14, 2012
- Maharashtra to remove encroachers from mill land - Dec 22, 2011
- RPI's rail blockade Monday for Ambedkar memorial - Dec 18, 2011
- Chavan to meet PM on Ambedkar memorial, boundary row - Dec 29, 2011
- Chavan demands land for Ambedkar memorial - Dec 20, 2011
- Land for Ambedkar memorial soon - Mar 30, 2012
- Maharashtra to evict encroachers from mill (Lead) - Dec 22, 2011
- Land 'captured' for Ambedkar memorial in Mumbai - Dec 06, 2011
- Chavan meets Sonia on Ambedkar memorial, Belgaum - Dec 30, 2011
- NCP wants Dadar station renamed Chaityabhoomi - Jun 10, 2011
- Congress misleading on Ambedkar memorial, Thackeray warns Dalits - Jan 02, 2012
- Chavan meets PM on Ambedkar memorial, farmers - Dec 09, 2011
Tags: acre plot, aggressive stance, ambedkar jayanti, babasaheb ambedkar, central mumbai, dr ambedkar, eastern express, effigies, four acres, government land, manmohan singh, national textile corporation, police barricades, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, rajya sabha, ramdas, republican party, road blockade, union ministers