Supporters of Dr. B R Ambedkar have sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to acquire a residential property in London, where the architect of India’s Constitution lived during the 1920s, and convert it into a memorial dedicated to him.
The Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations, UK, which had sought 4 million pounds (40 crore rupees) grant from Maharashtra Government to acquire the property is yet to hear a final word and with the imposition of the President’s Rule in the state “only the Prime Minister Narendra Modi can salvage the situation with prompt intervention,” Arun Kumar, General Secretary of the Federation said last night.
Kumar said, “Unless a decision is made quickly, we may not get the property as another credible buyer has come forward to acquire the property… At the moment, the estate agent acting on behalf of the seller is holding this property for us? If we don’t get confirmation from the government, he would not be able to hold on to it for a long time.”
The total cost includes the current asking price for the 2,050 sq ft property on King Henry’’s Road here as advertised at 3.1 million pounds, an estimated 2,17,000 pounds as stamp duty, legal costs, house insurance costs and necessary renovations to the property.
“The proposed memorial would help the Indian students particularly from the poorer sections coming to the UK for higher studies to stay. It would be a lasting memorial to the great visionary and dalit leader for years to come,” he said.
Ambedkar lived there while studying at the London School of Economics.
