Maya targets SP as Akhilesh woos Dalits: ‘SP has animosity towards Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar’

“Now, the Samajwadi Party has started a political stunt to cash in on the name of manyawar Shri Kanshi Ram ji when its long history of political and casteist animosity towards the Dalits, Most Backwards Class and their messiah Bhimrao Ambedkar, as well as Kanshi Ram, and being ungrateful to them, is all before the people. Because of that attitude, the 1995 guesthouse incident took place and our alliance with the SP ended. If the SP would have run the alliance government as per the missionary ideas of Kanshi Ram, then there would have been no rift and our alliance would have ruled the country. But that could not become possible because of the SP’s anti-Dalit and anti-backwards politics and the attitude of cheating the Muslims. And the BJP is still getting the advantage from that,” Mayawati said in a statement.

In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the SP had contested in alliance with the BSP, but the parties separated after the two parties failed to stop the BJP from coming to power at the Centre.

Mayawati made the remarks against the SP during a meeting of BSP state office bearers and district unit presidents that met in Lucknow on Sunday to discuss the preparations of the upcoming urban local body elections. The civic body elections are likely to be held in April-May.

In a statement issued after the meeting, Mayawati said that ahead of the local body polls, the BJP government was in the dock on the issues of the welfare of OBCs, reservation, unemployment and crisis in the agrarian sector. She added that the SP too was on the backfoot because of its wavering attitude toward the interests and security of Dalits, Most Backward Class and Muslims.

Calling the SP “anti-Dalit’, Mayawati said that the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP government in Uttar Pradesh had changed the name of Bhimrao Ambedkar Park, Sant Ravidas Nagar and Manyawar Kanshi Ram Ji Nagar districts and Manyavar Sri Kanshi Ram Urdu Arabi-Farsi University.

“After his (Kanshi Ram’s) death, the SP government, led by Mulayam Singh Yadav, did not announce state mourning and did not pay tribute to him. These are the black spots on the SP and the people are not going to forgive it for that. People know everything and therefore the SP’s cheap politics of tactics and jod-tod is not going to work,” Mayawati added.

Claiming that Dalits and Most Backward Class were already cautious of the SP, the BSP chief said that Muslims too were not going to be trapped in “SP’s tactics”.

Claiming that Dalit voters were still with the BSP, Mayawati said, “Other parties like the SP have been losing their vote banks as a result of which the BJP has become stronger in UP.”

The BSP chief’s statement targeting the SP comes amid reports that Akhilesh Yadav is likely to unveil a statue of Kanshi Ram in Raebareli on Monday. Sources said the programme is being organised by party general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya who joined the SP last year after a long stint in BSP and then the BJP.

The Indian Express on Sunday reported how the SP is adopting a variety of approaches to connect with the Dalit voters ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.