Lucknow,: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday called for a caste census and urged the government to take the required steps in this regard.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo also said the vast population of Uttar Pradesh has seen how the party, under the leadership of “iron lady”, values action over words.
In a statement issued on the 91st birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder late Kanshi Ram on Saturday, Mayawati said, “The population of the Bahujan community is more than 80 per cent in the state and the country. To guarantee their welfare legally and constitutionally, a provision of census was made in the Constitution by Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and its pendency is not good governance.
“Census work is directly linked to nation building, and the government should remain alert towards this responsibility, just as it is (alert) in conducting elections on time. A parliamentary committee has also expressed concern over not conducting the census.”
The BSP chief added that to give a new direction to the development of the country and the society, the importance of a caste census cannot be ruled out.
“The government should take the necessary steps soon to show its seriousness on the matter,” she said. Expressing serious concern over the “disputes” of religion, region, caste, community and language in the country, Mayawati said, “The root cause of these disputes is narrow, casteist, communal and hateful politics. National problems such as high inflation, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and backwardness have been completely forgotten.”
On the shortage of employment, she said the “empty hands and empty minds of people are adversely affecting the interest of the country”.
“Hence, Kanshi Ram Ji supported the policy of ‘Har Haat Ko Kaam’ (work for every hand). My government worked on this and also helped people from all sections of society in a significant way. The governments of other parties only talk in the air, putting the lives of the people of the state and the country in bad shape. People are fed up now,” she said.
Paying tributes to Kanshi Ram, Mayawati said, “Today, on the birth anniversary of BSP founder Kanshi Ram Ji, the party across the country paid homage to him and resolved to strengthen his movement for social change and economic liberation.
“To liberate the ‘Bahujan Samaj’ from the troubled life of immense poverty, unemployment, exploitation, oppression, backwardness, casteism, communal violence and tension, it is necessary to understand the power of your precious vote and obtain the master key to power. This is the message of today.”
Referring to herself as “iron lady”, the BSP supremo said, “The vast population of Uttar Pradesh has seen how the BSP under the leadership of ‘iron lady’ believes more in action than in words. It ensured the all-around development of the Bahujans when in power, while most claims made by the other parties proved baseless and deceptive.”
Born in Punjab’s Rupnagar on March 15, 1934, Kanshi Ram worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of people belonging to backward classes.
He founded the All India Backwards and Minorities Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) in 1971, the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti in 1981, before forming the BSP in 1984.
Kanshi Ram was elected to the Lok Sabha from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh in 1991 and from Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1996.
He also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 1998 to 2004.
The BSP stalwart passed away on October 9, 2006, in Delhi at the age of 71.
