Lucknow : Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday slammed the Samajwadi Party and Congress over their alleged "casteist and malicious" attitude towards the BSP founder Kanshi Ram, ahead of his death anniversary on October 9.
As the BSP has announced an event to commemorate the death anniversary of its founder, Kanshi Ram, Mayawati criticised SP's move to hold public meetings on October 9, calling it "blatant deception".
She wrote on X, "In the country, to transform the millions of Dalits, Adivasis, and other backward Bahujans, who are victims of the casteist system, from the exploited to the ruling class, the caravan of Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar's missionary movement for self-respect and dignity was kept alive and given new momentum by the founder and creator of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the revered Kanshi Ram Ji. However, the attitude of opposing parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party and Congress, towards him has always been deeply casteist and malicious, which is well-known."
"Therefore, the announcement by the SP chief to hold seminars and other events on the occasion of his Parinirvana Divas on the upcoming October 9 seems more like a blatant deception, embodying the proverb "Ram on the lips, a dagger under the arm," Mayawati added.
Further, she recalled SP's decision to change the name of Kanshi Ram Nagar to Kasganj, calling it an 'attempt to weaken Kanshi Ram's movement in UP'. "Not only did the SP betray Kanshi Ram Ji during his lifetime by continuously attempting to weaken his movement in UP, but also, due to casteist thinking and political malice, they changed the name of the new district named Kanshi Ram Nagar, which was established by the BSP government on April 17, 2008, granting Kasganj the status of a district headquarters under the Aligarh division," she wrote on X.
Mayawati added, "Furthermore, in the process of making Bahujans the ruling class, for his unparalleled contribution to forming the BSP government in UP, many universities, colleges, hospitals, and other institutions were established in the name of the revered Kanshi Ram Ji as a mark of respect. However, most of these were renamed by the SP government, which, if not a reflection of their deeply anti-Dalit tactics, character, and face, then what is it?"
The BSP chief added that the SP did not declare state mourning when Kanshi Ram passed away in 2006. She said, "Moreover, when he passed away, the entire country, especially Uttar Pradesh, was immersed in grief, yet the SP government did not declare even a single day of state mourning in UP. Similarly, the Congress government, which was in power at the centre at the time, also did not declare even a single day of national mourning upon his demise."
"Despite this, from time to time, for the sake of narrow politics and vote-bank interests, the SP and Congress have made efforts to remember the revered Kanshi Ram Ji, which is nothing but pure pretence and deception. People must remain vigilant and cautious of such parties as the SP and Congress, which harbour wrong, casteist, and narrow-minded thinking," the X post read.
Meanwhile, banners with the caption, "I love BSP" were put up outside the Manyawar Shri Kanshi Ram Ji Smarak Sthal (Eco Garden) in Lucknow. The BSP will host a major event at Smarak Sthal on October 9 to commemorate the death anniversary of its founder, Kanshi Ram.