Kharge visits Ambedkar's memorial, Azad's 'mazaar'; pays them homage

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge visited the memorial and 'mazaar' of B R Ambedkar and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and paid tributes to the two freedom fighters and former Union ministers

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday visited the memorial and 'mazaar' of B R Ambedkar and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and paid tributes to the two freedom fighters and former Union ministers.

After visiting Ambedkar's memorial here, Kharge also posted a quote of the former law minister and the chief architect of the Constitution on Twitter -- "Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, Bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship."

"Visited Dr B. R. Ambedkar Memorial in Delhi today and paid floral tributes to Babasaheb," Kharge, who took over as Congress chief on Wednesday, said in a tweet and posted pictures of him paying homage to Ambedkar at the memorial.

Kharge also visited the 'mazaar (grave)' of Azad here and paid floral tributes to India's first Education Minister.

Ahead of his taking over as Congress chief, Kharge had visited Rajghat on Wednesday and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi. He had also visited the memorials of former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram, and paid tributes to the leaders.

On Wednesday, Kharge took charge as the Congress' first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, citing Rahul Gandhi's slogan daro mat' to energise workers and declaring that the party will demolish the government's "system of lies, treachery and hatred".

Kharge, 80, had defeated Shashi Tharoor to win the Congress presidential election, to succeed Sonia Gandhi.