Mayawati questions Congress proposal to confer Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday questioned the Congress over its proposal to confer the Bharat Ratna on BSP founder Kanshi Ram if the party comes to power at the Centre.

In a post in Hindi on X, Mayawati urged party workers across the country to remain vigilant against what she described as attempts by other political parties, particularly the Congress, to weaken the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party).

Her remarks came a day after a proposal was passed at a Samvidhan Sammelan organised by the Congress in Lucknow stating that the party would confer the Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram if voted to power.

Mayawati questions Congress intent

Referring to B.R. Ambedkar, Mayawati said the Congress had failed to accord due respect to the architect of the Indian Constitution when it was in power.

“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 confer upon him the Bharat Ratna. How can the same party now honour Kanshi Ram?” she said.

Mayawati also said that when Kanshi Ram died in 2006, the Congress-led government at the Centre did not declare a national day of mourning.

She further alleged that the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh at that time also did not announce state mourning.

“This Congress party, while in power at the Centre, failed to declare even a single day of national mourning upon the passing of Kanshi Ram,” she said.

Warning to BSP workers

The BSP chief said several organisations and political parties claiming to represent Dalit interests were using Kanshi Ram’s name for political gain while attempting to weaken the BSP.

“Many parties that claim to represent Dalits are acting as pawns of larger political forces and are constantly trying to weaken the BSP by using Kanshi Ram’s name,” she said.

Mayawati urged supporters of Kanshi Ram to remain alert, particularly against the Congress, which she accused of having an “anti-Dalit mindset”.

She also called on party workers to ensure the success of programmes scheduled across the country on 15 March to mark Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary.

Congress resolution and Rahul Gandhi’s remarks

The proposal to honour Kanshi Ram with the Bharat Ratna was announced following a Samvidhan Sammelan organised by the Congress in Lucknow.

During the event, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said that if India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had been alive, Kanshi Ram could have become a chief minister from the Congress.

Nehru died in 1964, while Kanshi Ram rose to prominence decades later after founding BAMCEF (Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation) in 1978 and later establishing the BSP in 1984.

Addressing the gathering, Gandhi said leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram never compromised on their principles.

“The path on which we were moving, we should have moved faster. There have been shortcomings on the part of the Congress party,” Gandhi said.

Following his speech, Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi said a proposal had been passed that the Congress would confer the Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram if the party forms the government at the Centre.