The Centre on Wednesday paved the way for construction of a memorial for Dalit icon BR Ambedkar in Mumbai after it announced to initiate the process of transferring the Indu Mill land to the Maharashtra government for the purpose.

With this, the Congress has sought to woo not only the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but also the Dalits, who have moved away from it over the years.

The BSP's support is crucial for the government to defeat the opposition-sponsored motion against its decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail in the Rajya Sabha.

“The government has initiated the process to give effect to this decision and I will be shortly moving the necessary legislative proposal for parliamentary approval,” textiles minister Anand Sharma said in identical statements in both houses.

Dalit outfits had threatened to occupy the mill if the decision was not taken by December 6.