Rahul Gandhi says Nehru would have made Kanshi Ram UP CM; Mayawati questions Congress’ Bharat Ratna promise

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati

• Rahul Gandhi said Nehru would have made Kanshi Ram UP CM.
• Mayawati questioned Congress' proposal to honor Kanshi Ram.
• Mayawati slammed Congress for ignoring Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that had India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru been alive, he would have made Kanshi Ram—founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party—the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. A day later, BSP chief Mayawati questioned the Congress over its proposal to confer the Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram if it comes to power at the Centre.

Addressing a ‘Samvidhan Sammelan’ (Constitution conference) at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow to mark Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary, Gandhi said the late Dalit icon’s struggle and vision had a deep impact on Indian politics.

Reflecting on the rise of Kanshi Ram, Gandhi said the Congress had its own share of shortcomings which created space for the BSP founder to emerge as a powerful leader.

Speaking about the rise of Kanshi Ram, Gandhi said the Congress had its own share of shortcomings which created space for the BSP founder to emerge as a powerful leader.

Mayawati urged party workers across the country to remain vigilant against what she termed attempts by other political parties, particularly the Congress, to weaken the BSP.

In a post on X, Mayawati said that despite being in power at the Centre for several years, the Congress never accorded due respect to B R Ambedkar, and sought to know how the party could now propose to honour Kanshi Ram, whose birth anniversary will be observed on Sunday.

“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.

According to her, the Congress 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,” she said.