Mayawati ignored Bahujan movement: BSP founding member R K Chaudhary, now an SP MP
Lucknow (PTI): Newly elected Samajwadi Party (SP) MP R K Chaudhary, one of the founders of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), has claimed BSP chief Mayawati has been ignoring the Bahujan movement which has led to her party's rout in these Lok Sabha polls.
Now, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav is taking forward the Bahujan movement, demanding social equality for backward castes and disadvantaged communities, with the slogan of 'PDA' (backward, Dalit and minority), said Chaudhary, a four-time MLA and former state minister who is counted among Uttar Pradesh's prominent Dalit leaders.
In a conversation with PTI, Choudhary, who has been elected MP from the Mohanlalganj seat on an SP ticket, discussed among other things the BSP's falling graph and what future holds for the party founded by Kanshi Ram.
According to him, the core Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh has become leaderless at the moment, but in the coming times, the SP will carry forward the flame of Bahujanism awakened by Kanshi Ram.
When asked about the reasons for the BSP not being able to win even one seat in the recent Lok Sabha elections, Choudhary said, "Mayawati ji has been our leader. We respect her. But if anyone has ended Kanshi Ram ji's movement, it is Behen ji (Mayawati). Now, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has started walking on the path of taking that movement forward."
Claiming that the SP a got considerable share of Dalit votes in the Lok Sabha elections, he said, "The SP this time got the core vote of the Bahujan Samaj Party without asking for it."
"Somewhere, it got 50 per cent and somewhere it got 60 per cent (of the Dalit votes). This is not an ordinary thing. And in the coming times, the Samajwadi Party, under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, will definitely fulfill the dream that BSP founder Kanshi Ram ignited."
The BSP, the party which has formed government in Uttar Pradesh four times, could not win a single seat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. Its votes share also took a massive hit of more than 10 percentage points from the 2019 elections, when it had won 10 seats, to stand at 9.39 percent.
Choudhary was once a very close associate of BSP founder Kanshi Ram. He has also served as minister in all the four previous BSP governments in the state.
In this Lok Sabha election, he defeated Union Minister and BJP leader Kaushal Kishore by more than 70,000 votes from the Mohanlalganj seat in the state capital. BSP candidate Rajesh Kumar got 88,461 votes and stood third.
"When Kanshi Ram was there, he was capable of running Babasaheb Ambedkar's mission, but the Bahujan Samaj was then not mentally prepared for it," Chaudhary said.
"Today, this society knows about the Constitution and reservation but now there is no one to lead them. As far as the core Dalit leadership position is concerned, I think the space is vacant and whoever makes efforts will lead them," he said.
"Dalits believe in Babasaheb Ambedkar, they believed in Kanshi Ram ji as well. Now Kanshi Ram is no more, so Dalits are left feeling cheated and are wondering what to do," he said.
"I think that there used to be a slogan that the one who will talk about Bahujan will rule Delhi. Now the slogan that is being raised is that the one who will talk about PDA (backward, Dalit, minority) will rule Delhi," he said, describing the SP as the current torchbearer for the community.
SP President Akhilesh Yadav had given the slogan of PDA in the Lok Sabha elections and said that the SP will take forward the fight of these classes.
Chaudhary said, "Earlier, there was a slogan that Baba (Ambedkar) your mission is incomplete, Kanshi Ram will complete it. The mission is going on. Kanshi Ram ji is no more now. So now the slogan has become that Baba your mission is incomplete, we all together will complete it.''
"The path that BSP founder Kanshi Ram found, that the Bahujan Samaj should be brought together to form a political force, our leader Akhilesh Yadav has taken the same path and talked about PDA. This is the society which has been looted and it remained weak and helpless for centuries. After the formation of PDA, the process of change has started. It will move forward.''
"Our target was to remove the BJP government from power at the centre, but it did not happen. But we have succeeded in giving a blow to the BJP. Earlier, there used to be a strong BJP government at the centre, but now there is a weak government. Sooner or later, within six months, this government will fall and the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) coalition government will be formed," he said
When asked about the BJP not getting the expected success in Uttar Pradesh in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the former minister said, "The BJP does only Hindu-Muslim politics in the country. The BJP has had to bear the brunt of this politics in this election. If they do not stop this, they will have to suffer more."
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
