Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 19 (ANI): Anandraj Ambedkar, president of the Republican Sena and grandson of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, on Saturday said that he was invited at the last moment to the Ambedkar statue brick laying ceremony, which was cancelled yesterday.

"The brick laying ceremony of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar statue at Indu Mill was cancelled yesterday. I was unaware of this function. No one from the government or from the authorities contacted me about this and all of a sudden an ordinary officer came to my residence Rajgruh and gave me an invitation," Anandraj Ambedkar told ANI here.

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The event at Indu Mill premises in Mumbai for the Dr BR Ambedkar Memorial was postponed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at the last moment, reportedy over controversy over invitations.

Later, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had instructed MMRDA to prepare a new schedule for the pilling ceremony of Baba Saheb Ambedkar memorial and invite dignitaries to the function.

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Anandraj said that Maharashtra is the worstly-hit state by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and added that the such event at this time could have disturbed the basic structure of Maharashtra.

"Thankfully the government authorities, the Chief Minister's Office and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) took the decision to cancel this event," he said.

"We have a lot of doubts about making the statue. This will be a historical site and will be recognised across the globe no doubt. But we have some concerns about the quality of the statue and the surrounding of the Indu Mill," he added.

Anandraj said that he has written letters to the government about his concerns but added that no actions as been taken in the matter so far. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)