Rahul Gandhi Urges PM to Confer “Bharat Ratna” on Kanshi Ram, Mayawati Attacks Congress
NEW DELHI, Mar 15: The senior Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has urged the Centre to confer the “Bharat Ratna” on the Dalit icon Kanshi Ram, the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), describing him as a “symbol of empowerment and hope.”
In a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary on Sunday, Mr Gandhi credited him with strengthening the foundations of Indian democracy. This is not the first time he has made such a demand.
At a public meeting in Lucknow on Friday where he had claimed that had India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru been alive, Kanshi Ram would have become a Congress Chief Minister, the party had made similar demand. The Congress’s new found attention on Kanshi Ram, who died in 2006, has irked BSP supremo Mayawati, who cautioned her voters and cadres to be alert to what she described as attempts to appropriate Kanshi Ram’s legacy.
In his letter to Mr Modi, Mr Gandhi said Kanshi Ram transformed the nature of Indian politics. “Through his movements, he raised political awareness among Bahujans and the poor. He reminded them that their vote, voice, and representation are important, and that this country belongs to everyone equally,” he wrote. Kanshi Ram’s efforts, he added, paved the way for many who had never considered entering public life to see politics as a means to achieve justice and equality.
“Our Constitution promises equality, dignity, and participation for every Indian. Kanshi Ram ji devoted his life to making these promises meaningful for those at the very bottom of society. In doing so, he strengthened the foundations of Indian democracy and made our political system more representative and just,” Mr Gandhi said, noting that this demand has been consistently raised for several years.
“Conferring the Bharat Ratna on him posthumously would recognise his immense contribution to our nation. It would honour the aspirations of millions who continue to view him as a symbol of empowerment and hope,” he added. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said Kanshi Ram’s contribution to the struggle for social justice and equality would remain an inspiration.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra described Kanshi Ram as a social justice hero and a fierce voice for deprived and exploited communities, adding that his “ideas will forever continue to inspire us all.”
The BSP supremo Mayawati, even while supporting the demand for conferring “Bharat Ratna” on Kanshi Ram, attacked the Congress and Mr Gandhi fearing that the Grand Old party could take away the credit and hijack the Dalit votes. She claimed that the Congress party’s “anti-Dalit ideology” necessitated the formation of BSP, and the national party never accorded due respect to Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
Questioning Congress’s statement that Kanshi Ram would be conferred the Bharat Ratna if it comes to power at the Centre, Ms Mayawati in a post on X urged the party workers to remain vigilant against what she claimed were attempts by other political parties, especially the Congress, to use Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram’s name and weaken the BSP.
“The Congress never gave due honour to Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar — the messiah of Dalits and the principal architect of the Constitution — nor did they ever confer upon him the title of Bharat Ratna… How can the same party now honour Kanshi Ram,” she said in her post. Her remarks came a day after a proposal was passed at a ‘Samvidhan Sammelan’ organised by the Congress in Lucknow, stating that the party would confer the Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram if voted to power.
“This Congress party, while in power at the Centre, failed to declare even a single day of national mourning upon the passing of Kanshi Ram.” Similarly, the then-ruling Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh also did not announce state mourning,” Ms Mayawati said.
She claimed that several organisations and political parties claiming to represent the Dalit community — often acting as pawns in the hands of bigger political parties — are constantly engaged in using Kanshi Ram’s name for political gains while trying to weaken the BSP.
“Currently, all these parties are employing various tactics to undermine and weaken the BSP. Therefore, his (Kanshi Ram) followers and supporters must remain alert, especially against the Congress, whose anti-Dalit ideology and mindset made it necessary to form the BSP,” she said.
(Manas Dasgupta)
