Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said that BSP founder Kanshi Ram secured a respectable position for ‘bahujans’ in Indian politics.Paying floral tributes to Kanshi Ram on his 92nd birth anniversary, Akhilesh said: “He was an Indian statesman and a social reformer who founded BAMCEF in 1971 and Bahujan Samaj Party in 1984 to secure a respectable position for ‘bahujans’ in Indian politics and society alike.”Recounting his contributions in the uplift of the Dalits, Akhilesh said it was Kanshi Ram who roped in the like-minded people in govt service and Dalits to pave the way for emancipation of the ‘bahujan samaj’.“The alliance between Kanshi Ram and Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1991 struck a new chord between the Dalits community and the backward classes and their coalition led to the formation of a govt in the state. It was the SP that paved the way for Kanshi Ram ji to reach Lok Sabha through Etawah parliamentary constituency in 1991 elections. SP has always accorded him honour and respect,” Akhilesh said in a statement.He said SP’s PDA had provided strength to the neglected and marginalised in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the real impact of this coming together would be realised and witnessed once the BJP was dislodged from the govt in the 2027 assembly elections. “This will happen soon because the PDA, which includes ‘bahujan samaj’, are committed to ensuring the change of guard in UP,” Akhilesh said.At the party headquarters in Lucknow floral tributes were paid to Kanshi Ram at a special event where sitting MP RK Chaudhary, former leader of opposition (LoP) Ram Govind Chaudhary and cabinet minister Rajendra Chaudhary recalled Kanshi Ram’s contributions in UP politics.In Muzaffarnagar’s Shamli, tributes were paid to Kanshi Ram at an even organised by senior party functionary Prof Sudhir Panwar. Local party functionaries spoke about Kanshi Ram’s political contributions.In Lucknow party’s city unit chief Faqir Siddiqui and general secretary Gaurav Singh Yadav paid tributes to Kashiram at the party’s district unit office in Kaiserbagh.At another event organised by Baba Sahab Ambedkar Vahini of SP, national general secretary of Rambabu Sudarshan highlighted Kanshi Ram’s role in showcasing the plight of the Dalit community.
