Kanshi speech a damp squib

Kanshi Ram, however, towed his now-famous line of Become the ruler and give reservations rather than going on receiving it and crying foul8217; during his speech, and liberally quoted incidents and examples.

Soon, the crowd8217;s enthusiasm faded and many were seen leaving, even as Kanshi Ram neared the conclusion of his speech. The usual hard-hitting and emotional style of his narration was missing and he elicited a few cheers from the crowd during the speech.

He started off by asking BSP supporters whether they were ready to shoulder the responsibility of completing the mission8217; of DrAmbedkar which they kept repeating through slogans. He called upon them to first build the capacity to do so.

With this, he reiterated the Become the ruler8217; cliche. Is anyay aur atyachar ko meetane ke liye hame hukmaran banna padega We will have to become the rulers to fight injustices and atrocities, he kept saying. He gave the example of Pathans, Mughals, the British and high-caste8217; Indians, who, although small in number, never had to face injustice as they were the rulers, he said.

He also gave the example of the Mayawati regime in Uttar Pradesh, when, he said, goondaism and atrocities on the Backward Classes in the State had almost ceased, as the Chief Minister had placed Backward Class officers in higher posts. He said during her rule, the BSP Chief Minister brought about several constructive changes in Uttar Pradesh. This indicated the strength of power and the ruler8217;s clout, he said.

The BSP leader also expressed unhappiness over the fact that the BSP supporters did not respondfavourably to his call of giving up the expectation of reservations. Nothing would be gained if people kept crying foul about injustices and atrocities and feared the prospect of taking the reins in their hands, he said.

Kanshi Ram said the credit of routing the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP in the recent Assembly elections in three States should go to the BSP and him. He said it was his call of supporting anti-BJP parties in the constituencies where the BSP did not fight, that did the job for the Congress. He added that this did not mean he was supporting the Congress, which he said was as Manuvadi as other major political parties in the country.

On the issue of women, which was the convention theme, Kanshi Ram called for an amendment in the proposed Women8217;s Reservation Bill to include caste-based reservations. Unless more Backward Class women came to the political forefront, the real problems of women would never be solved, he said. He also criticised major political parties for supporting theBill saying it stood for narrow gains.