Addressing his first solo election rally in Haryana, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) No. 2 Akash Anand Wednesday went after the Congress, calling the party “anti-reservation”, its chief Mallikarjun Kharge a “sycophant” and senior leader Rahul Gandhi a “traitor” to the cause of Dalits. At the rally in Jagadhri Assembly constituency, Anand claimed that Kharge, in a recent statement, had ignored the role of B R Ambedkar in the introduction of affirmative action and instead given credit only to Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi. “Kanshiram ji had asked us to be cautious with such people. In fact, Kanshiram ji had given a name for such persons who mislead SCs despite belonging to the same community… If the Congress president ignores the works of Babasaheb despite himself belonging to the SC community, then what is he to the Congress?” the BSP national coordinator asked. The crowd responded: “Chamcha (sycophant).” Kharge had said that “the Scheduled Caste Community got reservation through Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Poona Pact” and that later, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi continued the reservation policy. He was responding in August to the Supreme Court verdict on the sub-classification of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). Anand on Wednesday also said that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, campaigned for the Lok Sabha elections with a copy of the Constitution but “went missing” after the sub-classification verdict. “He went abroad (the US) and said that he will end reservation when the situation is favourable for him,” Anand claimed. During an interaction with students at Georgetown, Gandhi had drawn attention to the lack of representation for Dalits and backward castes in government. “We will think of ending reservation when India is a fair place. And India is not a fair place,” he had said. Anand called Rahul a dhokebaaz (traitor). “Had he not assured you that he will fight for your (SC/ST) rights and reservation? That same person is speaking against you abroad. Will you allow such a dhokhebaaz to come to power? Will you let him enter the state? Next time when he tries to enter your district, chase him out.” Anand also targeted the BJP, though his rhetoric was much milder when compared to his speeches against the party in the Lok Sabha election run-up. At the time, his aunt Mayawati had removed him as not only the party’s national coordinator but also her designated “successor”. The BSP chief reinstated him six weeks later, on June 23, telling him to work with “maturity”. On Wednesday, Anand said that the BJP and Congress are working together to change the Constitution, and to keep people unemployed. He targeted the BJP government of Haryana and said that more than 5,000 primary schools were closed in the state in the past 10 years. He also said that paper leaks happened in recruitment examinations of every department. He also took aim at former Haryana CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda for “not agreeing” to make a “Dalit’s daughter” — Kumari Selja — the CM face. “You would have seen how many bad things Hooda’s supporters said about Selja ji. She is a tall Dalit leader. We respect her,” said Anand. BSP has fielded Darshan Lal from the Jagadhri seat, where it finished second and third in 2014 and 2019, respectively. It is contesting 37 out of the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, leaving the remaining 53 for ally Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The state goes to polls on October 5. Mayawati’s action against her nephew came in May, days after he was booked for “promoting enmity” in a speech in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur. In that speech, on April 28, Akash allegedly called the BJP government “aatankvadiyon ki sarkar (a government party of terrorists).” At the same rally, he had called the BJP a “choron ki party” (party of thieves). He urged the people to beat BJP workers with slippers, shoes and batons if they came asking for votes. On April 24, in Gorakhpur, Anand had called Uttar Pradesh the “kidnapping capital of the country”. He said Yogi Adityanath’s government was a “gaddaron ki sarkar (government of traitors)”.
