Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, accusing them of displaying “fake” respect towards BSP founder Kanshi Ram ahead of his death anniversary on October 9.
She alleged that both parties have a long history of casteist politics and anti-Dalit actions and were now engaging in political opportunism for vote-bank gains.
Mayawati questioned the SP’s recent announcement to organise a seminar in memory of Kanshi Ram, calling it “a gross deception” and a move that “clearly reflects the saying ‘speak fair and stab in the back’. She alleged that both SP and Congress have historically opposed Kanshi Ram’s mission of empowering Dalits, Adivasis, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and accused them of sabotaging the BSP’s movement.
She particularly condemned the SP government for allegedly weakening Kanshi Ram’s movement in Uttar Pradesh during his lifetime and accused it of political vendetta by renaming institutions, districts, and welfare initiatives started under the BSP government in his honour. “A glaring example was the 2008 decision by the BSP government to name a new district ‘Kanshi Ram Nagar’ under Aligarh division, which was later renamed by the SP government due to casteist and political reasons,” she said.
Mayawati also highlighted that despite Kanshi Ram’s immense contribution to social justice and Dalit empowerment, neither the SP government in Uttar Pradesh nor the Congress-led central government declared even a day of official mourning after his death, which she termed a mark of deep disrespect.
“Remembering Kanshi Ram ji for narrow political gains, while continuously working against his ideals, only exposes the real character of SP and Congress,” Mayawati added. She urged people, especially those from the marginalised Bahujan community, to stay alert and cautious of such “narrow-minded, casteist, and deceptive parties.”