Lucknow,

26 Feb (HS): Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, accused the

Samajwadi Party on Thursday of engaging in political theaterics by proposing to

commemorate PDA Day on the birth date of BSP founder Kanshi Ram, and said that

the Akhilesh Yadav-led party has traditionally attacked Dalits, OBCs, and the

Bahujan community. In June 2023, SP president Yadav created the acronym PDA,

which stood for 'Pichhde' (backward classes), Dalits, and 'Alpsankhyak'

(minorities).

Mayawati

stated in a Hindi-language post on X that the SP's actions, character, and face

had traditionally expressed disdain for Bahujan society's leaders and heroes,

and that its decision to commemorate Kanshi Ram's birth day was intended to win

votes from marginalized areas. She

asserted that the SP's casteist policies began with the 1993 BSP-SP alliance.

Despite

criteria imposed to minimize atrocities against vulnerable groups, she claimed,

then-chief minister and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav refused to change his

stance, prompting the BSP to withdraw its support on June 1, 1995. The former

Uttar Pradesh chief minister also mentioned the 1995 state guest house incident

in Lucknow, calling it a documented case of cruelty in which she was attacked.

Mayawati

further claimed that previous SP administrations have humiliated Kanshi Ram by

altering the names of districts and institutions linked with him. She mentioned

the renaming of Kanshi Ram Nagar district and adjustments to institutions named

after the BSP founder in locations like as Saharanpur. Mayawati accused the SP

leadership, led by Akhilesh Yadav, of pursuing anti-Dalit and anti-BSP

policies.

She

also accused the Congress and the SP of communal violence throughout their

respective tenures. She claimed that as a result of the SP's actions, the BJP

was able to use the situation for political benefit and formed the state

government. The Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party have effectively

fed off of one another, becoming mutually beneficial rivals while pursuing

casteist and sectarian politics in the state. The BJP's control in Uttar

Pradesh has harmed Muslims and the Bahujan community, while crores of common

people in the state are suffering in many ways, she claimed.

She

stated that the SP's casteist and communal stance against Dalits, OBCs,

Muslims, and Bahujan society has been well known from its inception. Mayawati

questioned why Kanshi Ram was not given enough attention during his live and

why no day of official mourning was announced following his death. The SP must

respond to the Bahujan samaj, she remarked. She

advised the Bahujan community to stay watchful in the face of what she termed

as the SP's anti-Dalit and casteist activities.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi