Maya attacks Mulayam for pulling Dalit icons down

Had it not been for Ambedkar, SP leader would have been tending cows

Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Tuesday heaped scorn on the Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav for not according due respect to Dalit icons B R Ambedkar and Kanshiram.

Addressing a BSP rally here, Mayawati said it was Ambedkar who provided reservation to the backward castes in the Constitution that paved way for their economic upliftment.

“Had it not been for Ambedkar, Mulayam and his family would have been tending cows and buffaloes of some feudal lord,” Mayawati said.

“Agar Baba Saheb Ambedkar nahin hotey to Mulayam aur unke parivaar ke log kisi zamindar ke yehan gai aur bhains chara rahe hotey.”

Her outburst came in the wake of a series of decisions taken by the present dispensation indicating its ‘antipathy’ for Dalit icons, particularly Ambedkar and BSP founder Kanshiram.
Since the exit of Mayawati, the Dalit ideologues have been replaced by socialist ideologue such as Ram Manohar Lohia.

The state government had recently scrapped an award instituted in the name of the BSP founder and rechristened it after the legendary Indian army jawan Abdul Hamid, who had laid down his life fighting for the country against Pakistan.

The Mayawati government had started the award for those doing commendable work in the field of forest and environment conservation.

The Akhilesh government also changed the name of the Kanshiram Urdu-Arabic University, calling it after the famous 16th century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.

Earlier also, the BSP chief had said that Mulayam Singh would not have been able to become the chief minister of UP without the blessings and support of Kanshiram.
However, Samajwadi Party leaders strongly refuted her claim.