Mayawati urges Dalit leaders to break ties with Congress, 'casteist parties' ahead of Haryana polls

Lucknow: Ahead of the assembly elections in Haryana, BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday urged Dalit leaders to sever ties with the Congress and other "casteist parties" and follow the path laid down by Dr BR Ambedkar.

The comments come amid attempts by the alliance of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to position itself as a pro-Dalit alternative in Haryana.

In a series of posts on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister accused the Congress and other "casteist parties" of using Dalit leaders only in times of trouble and later marginalising them.

She said in Hindi, "The political developments in the country so far have proven that the Congress and other casteist parties only remember Dalits during their bad days and appoint them as chief ministers or to other key organisational positions temporarily." "But in their good days, these parties mostly sideline Dalits and replace them with casteist individuals, as is currently being witnessed in Haryana," she added.

Mayawati also called on Dalit leaders to take inspiration from Ambedkar and distance themselves from such parties.

"These humiliated Dalit leaders should be inspired by their messiah, Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, and detach themselves from these parties. They should also work to keep their communities away from these parties," she said.

Drawing a parallel with Ambedkar's resignation from the central government, Mayawati invoked her own decision to resign from the Rajya Sabha in 2017 over the violence against Dalits in Saharanpur.

"Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar resigned from the post of Union law minister for the sake of self-respect and dignity of the weaker sections. Inspired by him, I also resigned from the Rajya Sabha when I wasn't allowed to speak on the atrocities against Dalits in Saharanpur. Hence, I advise Dalits to follow in his footsteps," she said.

Mayawati also accused the Congress of being "historically opposed" to reservation for Dalits and other backward communities.

Targeting Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, she said, "The Congress and other casteist parties have always been against reservation. Rahul Gandhi even went abroad and announced the intention to abolish reservation. People should remain cautious of such anti-Constitution, anti-reservation, and anti-SC, ST, OBC parties." Elections to the 90-member Haryana Assembly will be held on October 5 and the results declared on October 8.