Cautioning Dalits, backwards and other oppressed classes of the BJP-RSS’ communal designs over the Ram Mandir issue ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Thursday ushered B.R. Ambedkar as the “true messiah and god” of these communities.
After the issues of Love Jihad, cow slaughter, conversion, Hindu population, nationalism and Hindu Rashtra failed to resonate with the Dalits and OBCs, Ms. Mayawati claimed, the RSS and its affiliates would now try to rake up religious sentiments over the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
However, “the true gods, temples or pilgrimage sites of these communities are not in holy cities such as Ayodhya, Mathura, Varanasi or Tirupati. The true messiah and god of Dalits, OBCs and tribals across the country is Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Ms. Mayawati said. Babasaheb was the only person to struggle against the caste system and who tried to get Dalits, backwards and tribals, “enslaved by the Manuvadi system,” back up on their feet.
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Even if the RSS-BJP combine elevates a person belong to the OBC or Dalit caste to the post of Prime Minister or the Chief Minister of a State, he or she will continue to “work as a bonded-labourer” of the Sangh and do little good for their community, Ms. Mayawati said. Her jibe was directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who often flaunts his humble, OBC background.
As the polls approach, Mr. Modi’s tours to U.P. would increase and he would announce new schemes “but in reality in the past two years, the Centre government has not taken a single concrete step for Dalits,” the former U.P. CM said. Mr. Modi does not tire himself from raking his OBC background but has done little for them so far, she said:“He has not done anything even for the tea-sellers.”
Addressing a massive rally at the sprawling Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal here on the 125th birth anniversary of Babasaheb, Ms. Mayawati said the BJP and the Congress were engaging in “theatrics” over Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy merely to corner Dalit votes, while actually working against his ideals of social justice and even thwarting his movement directly.
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She alleged that over the years the Congress and the BJP governments had conspired to dilute the provisions of reservations, and in matters concerning Dalits, both parties stood equally two-faced. The present re-opening of her disproportionate assets cases in the Supreme Court was part of a longstanding ploy by the BJP and the Congress to entangle her in unnecessary court cases and weaken the BSP movement, Ms. Mayawati alleged.
Ms. Mayawati also warned her supporters of the polarizing potential of Bharat Mata Ki Jai c ontroversy, and said it was not necessary for people to chant the slogan to prove their patriotism. “We, in the BSP, chant Jai Bhim or Jai Bharat ,” she said. The controversy over the slogan was raked up by the BJP to divert people’s attention from its failures and anti-people decisions, the BSP leader said.
While pledging to form the government for the fifth time in the State next year, she also attacked the Samajwadi Party government and promised to overturn all such decisions taken by it that reflected casteist designs. She vowed to no longer indulge in building parks and memorials but focus on ridding the State of goondaism.
She also heavily attacked Mr. Modi for projecting himself as an Ambedkarvadi, flaying him for celebrating the birth anniversary of Dalit leader Babu Jagjivan Ram in Noida, U.P. instead of Sasaram in Bihar, from where he fought elections. Mr. Modi called himself an Ambedkarvadi but was actually a supporter of Jagjivan Ram, who was foisted by the Congress to oppose Babasaheb, Ms. Mayawati said.