Lucknow, March 17 – Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) National President Mayawati accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress on Tuesday of exploiting the legacy of Kanshi Ram for political gain in the run-up to next year’s elections in Uttar Pradesh.
She alleged that parties that had ignored Kanshi Ram during their time in power are now, motivated by electoral considerations, demanding that his birth anniversary be celebrated and that he be awarded the ‘Bharat Ratna’.
She described this move as “opportunistic” and “politically motivated”.
In a post on social media platform X, Mayawati stated that the SP, Congress, and other parties were attempting to appropriate the legacy of the BSP founder to serve their electoral interests.
She also targeted the Congress, stating that it had failed to confer the country’s highest civilian award on Kanshi Ram when it was in power at the Centre, but is now demanding the honour from another government.
The BSP chief further accused these parties of consistently working to weaken the BSP, a party founded by Kanshi Ram, and asserted that such efforts would not succeed.
She maintained that as his political successor, she would continue to safeguard the party’s core ideology and organisational strength.
Mayawati also claimed that the opposition’s renewed focus on Kanshi Ram reflects a decline in the relevance of their own leaders, prompting them to invoke the legacy of BSP icons.
She alleged that several initiatives undertaken during the BSP rule in his honour were later diluted or reversed by subsequent governments led by the SP.
Citing Kanshi Ram’s book ‘Chamcha Yug’ (The age of the sycophants), she criticised what she described as “sycophantic politics” within rival parties.
The political debate over the issue further intensified after SP chief Akhilesh Yadav demanded that Kanshi Ram be awarded the Bharat Ratna, describing him as a transformative leader who championed social justice.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier put forth the demand, calling Kanshi Ram a guiding force for Bahujan consciousness and urging the Centre to recognise his contributions with the nation’s highest civilian honour.