Haryana assembly elections: BSP leader Mayawati urges Dalit leaders to cut off ties with Congress

File Pic

Ahead of the Haryana Assembly Elections, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Monday urged the Dalit leaders to follow the path laid forth by Dr BR Ambedkar and cut off ties with the Congress and other "casteist parties", PTI reported.

According to PTI, the comments come amid attempts by the BSP and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) alliance to showcase itself as a pro-Dalit alternative in Haryana.

The former Uttar Pradesh CM accused the Congress party and other "casteist parties" of using Dalit leaders only in times of trouble and later marginalising them, in a series of posts on the social media platform X.

She said in Hindi, "The political developments in the country so far have proven that the Congress and other casteist parties only remember Dalits during their bad days and appoint them as chief ministers or to other key organisational positions temporarily."

"But in their good days, these parties mostly sideline Dalits and replace them with casteist individuals, as is currently being witnessed in Haryana," she added.

Mayawati also urged Dalit leaders to avoid associating with such parties and to draw inspiration from Ambedkar.

"These humiliated Dalit leaders should be inspired by their messiah, Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, and detach themselves from these parties. They should also work to keep their communities away from these parties," she said on X.

Similar to Ambedkar's resignation from the union government, Mayawati called on her own decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha in 2017 over the violence against Dalits in Saharanpur.

"Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar resigned from the post of Union law minister for the sake of self-respect and dignity of the weaker sections. Inspired by him, I also resigned from the Rajya Sabha when I wasn't allowed to speak on the atrocities against Dalits in Saharanpur. Hence, I advise Dalits to follow in his footsteps," she said.

According to PTI, Mayawati also accused the Congress party of being "historically opposed" to Dalit reservation as well as other backward communities.

Targeting Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, she said, "The Congress and other casteist parties have always been against reservation. Rahul Gandhi even went abroad and announced the intention to abolish reservations. People should remain cautious of such anti-Constitution, anti-reservation, and anti-SC, ST, OBC parties."

(With inputs from PTI)