Mulayam, Lohia, Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar followed the same path: Akhilesh Yadav

Accompanied by party leader Swami Prasad Maurya, who was earlier with the BSP and BJP, Akhilesh said: “The Samajwadi Party does not divide the “bahujan samaj” but consolidates the “bahujan samaj”. My party workers and leaders will walk on the path shows by Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.”

Referring to BSP chief Mayawati accusing him and his party of being “anti-Dalits”, the Samajwadi Party chief said: “BSP leaders should have expressed gratitude because we are honouring a person who worked hard to establish BSP. But instead of expressing gratitude, they are speaking something else.”

On Sunday, Mayawati had accused the SP of being “ungrateful” to Kanshi Ram and Ambedkar and having “animosity towards the two Dalit leaders”. She had also accused the SP of trying to weaken the BSP instead of fighting the BJP politically.

Akhilesh, meanwhile, highlighted Kanshi Ram’s connection with Etawah – the Yadav family’s hometown – saying that the BSP founder won his first Lok Sabha election from his native place. “He (Kanshi Ram) contested several elections in different states but did not achieve success. But Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and samajwadis understood the situation that time and sent Kanshi Ram to Lok Sabha from Etawah,” Akhilesh said, adding that after Kashi Ram’s election to Lok Sabha, “a new politics started in UP”.

“We also tried to bring the change but we did not achieve success,” Yadav said, indirectly referring to the SP’s alliance with BSP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls which did not last long.

Referring to BJP’s past slogan – “hathi nahi, ganesh hain, Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh hain” – Akhilesh said: “We do not want to indulge in debates on slogans but the BJP

helped the BSP in forming government four times.”

Elephant is BSP’s poll symbol, Akhilesh also hit out at the ruling BJP and reiterated his demand for holding a caste census in the state. “If you want sabka saath, sabka vikas, then caste census must be done. Social justice and sabka saath, sabka vikas were not possible without a caste census,” the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly said. “BJP often attacks and contests elections by taking support of the others. So, there is a need to be cautious from the BJP and also those who are indirectly supporting BJP,” Akhilesh said, without naming any party.

Swami Prasad Maurya, who had organised the event, said that many people who were earlier associated with the BSP are now with the SP. “People, who are sitting on the dais today, held senior positions in the BSP at one time. They all are now standing in support of SP…Those who were soldiers in Kanshi Ram’s battle for social change are today in the SP and we will take forward the ideology of the 1993 BSP-SP alliance in Akhilesh Yadav’s leadership,” Maurya said.