President pays tributes to Ambedkar at his birthplace

He paid tributes to the Dalit icon at his birthplace in the Kalipaltan area, where the Madhya Pradesh government has built a grand memorial.

Kovind is the first president to visit the legendary social reformer's birthplace in the Mhow cantonment town, which has been rechristened as Ambedkar Nagar in the memory of the leader.

A large number of Ambedkar followers visited Mhow to pay their respects to independent India's first law minister.

Earlier, on his arrival at Indore, Kovind was welcomed at the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar airport by Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The president later left for Mhow, about 30km from Indore, by a helicopter.