Political parties across the ideological spectrum in Uttar Pradesh on Friday paid tribute to Dalit leader and founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary. U.P. CM Yogi Adityanath described the late leader as a popular politician who fought throughout his life for the welfare of the neglected, deprived, and exploited.
“Humble tribute to Kanshi Ramji, a popular politician who fought throughout his life for the rights and overall development of the Dalits, the deprived and the exploited,” Mr. Adityanath wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
BSP president Mayawati said that the party’s founder engaged in epochal work by strengthening the “Bahujan Samaj” and, in the process, brought the community out of slavery.
“Due to his struggle, the BSP formed the government in Uttar Pradesh four times and a strong foundation of social change and economic liberation was laid down. The truest tribute to him will be to get a good result in the Lok Sabha election,” the former four-time U.P. CM said.
The BSP held numerous events across U.P. districts remembering the role played by Kanshi Ram in uplifting and sensitising the Dalit community about their rights and political power.
Kanshi Ram in his roughly 35-year long social and political career worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of Dalits and backward caste founding social organisations like All India Backwards and Minorities Communities Employees’ Federation, Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti, and later the political party BSP in 1984. The BSP formed government on its own in 2007, while leading U.P. government on three other separate occasions.
