Centre must not repeat Congress's mistake, must confer Bharat Ratna on Kanshi Ram: Mayawati
Lucknow (PTI): BSP supremo Mayawati on Sunday urged the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on party founder Kanshi Ram and not make the same mistake the Congress did with B R Ambedkar when it came to the award.
In a statement on Sunday on the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, Mayawati attacked the Samajwadi Party, Congress, and the BJP, saying they only talk about the Bahujan, but rarely work for their uplift.
"The Muslim community has significantly dissociated itself from these parties, and with the Brahmin community associating with the BSP, it seems that SP's political and caste-animosity have intensified," Mayawati said.
She hailed Kanshi Ram for his work for an egalitarian society and urged the BJP-led Centre to bestow the highest civilian award on him.
"Like the Congress party, which did not honour the architect of India's Constitution, Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, with Bharat Ratna, the current BJP-NDA government at the Centre should not make any further delay in honouring 'Bahujan' leader Kanshi Ram ji with the Bharat Ratna.
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"His contribution in creating an egalitarian society in the country, as enshrined in the Constitution, is historic, and for this reason, he too resides in the hearts of the people," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
"He not only created a political force, but also formed a government in a large and important state like Uttar Pradesh, and made me its chief minister," she said about the Dalit icon.
Mayawati's statement came days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that had Jawaharlal Nehru been alive, then Kanshi Ram would have been made a chief minister from the Congress.
Nehru, India's first prime minister, died in 1964, while Kanshi Ram broke out onto the political scene with his founding of backwards-championing BAMCEF in 1978, and later bolstered his position with the formation of the Bahujan Samaj Party in 1984.
In his tribute to the Dalit icon, Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, and Kanshi Ram never compromised on their principles.
Gandhi was speaking at the Samvidhan Sammelan held in Lucknow ahead of Kanshi Ram's birth anniversary.
He said, "If Jawaharlal Nehru were alive, then Kanshi Ram would have been a chief minister from the Congress."
After Gandhi's speech, a proposal was passed resolving that when the Congress is voted to power, it would confer Kanshi Ram with a Bharat Ratna.
On Sunday, too, Gandhi appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to confer the Bharat Ratna on the BSP founder posthumously.
In a letter to Modi, Gandhi said Kanshi Ram transformed the nature of Indian politics and, through his movements, raised political awareness among Bahujans and the poor.
"As we commemorate the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ramji today and reflect on his legacy and contributions, I write with a request that he be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously," the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said in the letter.
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 1978, 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.
Kanshi Ram died on October 9, 2006, in Delhi at 72.
Meanwhile, Mayawati accused the Samajwadi Party and other opposition parties of making empty talk about the welfare of Bahujans, and asserted that BSP is the only party working for their interests.
"In reality, even among parties that exploit Dalits, other backward castes and the Muslim at every level, especially the SP, and its love for PDA ('Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak) is pure eyewash. They remember these communities and their great men only during the elections. Once they form the government, they disregard them," Mayawati said.
Mayawati, accompanied by senior party leaders, paid floral tributes to Kanshi Ram's portrait and statue at the BSP's central camp office in Lucknow.
The BSP chief appealed to the Bahujan community to maintain a safe distance from parties that seek to dilute the power of the Bahujan vote by luring them to make MPs and MLAs.
Mayawati also criticised the opposition parties for renaming the Manyavar Shri Kanshiram Urdu, Arabic, and Persian University in Lucknow, established in 2009 by her government, to Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University.
According to the party statement, BSP workers from 12 administrative divisions of Uttar Pradesh gathered at the Manyavar Shri Kanshiram Ji Memorial in the state capital to pay tributes to Kanshi Ram.
Workers from six divisions in western Uttar Pradesh garlanded the statue of Kanshi Ram at Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal in Gautam Buddha Nagar.
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11 Maoists surrender with arms before Odisha Police in Kalahandi
Bhawanipatna (Odisha) (PTI): Eleven Maoists, including a Divisional Committee Member (DCM), carrying a bounty of Rs 22 lakh, surrendered before Odisha Police in Kalahandi district on Sunday, an officer said.
The Maoists surrendered and handed over their weapons to Odisha DGP Y B Khurania, ADG (anti-naxal operation) Sanjeeb Panda and other senior officers at a special function in Kalahandi district headquarters here, the officer said.
The 11 Maoists, including Divisional Committee member (DCM) Nakul, belong to the BGN (Bansadhara, Ghumsar, Nagavali) division of the outlawed CPI(Maoist).
While Nakul, a native of Maharashtra, was carrying a reward of 22 lakh on his head as DCM of Odisha State Committee, 10 others hail from Chhattisgarh.
The 11-member Maoist group comprised 1 DCM, 5 Area Committee Members (ACM) and 5 party members (PM). Together, they are carrying a reward of over Rs 63 lakh.
Addressing the gathering, DGP Khurania said, the surrender of Maoists reflects the steady weakening influence of left-wing extremist ideology in the region. He said that sustained operation by security forces led to the erosion of the Maoist base in the region.
"All surrendered Maoists would be extended the benefits under the state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, including financial assistance, vocational training to help them reintegrate into society with dignity," the DGP said.
So far Nuapada, Nabarangpur. Malkangiri, Koraput, Boudh, and Bolangir districts have become Maoist-free. "Odisha Police is committed to make Odisha Maoist-free by March 31, 2026," the DGP said.
ADG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sanjeeb Panda said that the surrender of 11 Maoists is a major step towards achieving the target set by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah to eliminate Maoists from the country by March 31.
"After the surrender of 11 Maoists on Sunday, the state now has only about 15 red rebels, including State Committee Member (SCM) Sukru, hiding in Kandhamal district," Panda said, adding that operations will be further intensified to nab the remaining Maoists active in the state.
The ADG said that the 11 surrendered Maoists will receive compensation of over Rs 1.23 crore, including additional cash compensation of Rs 60 lakh.
They have surrendered 11 weapons, including 1 AK-47, 1 INSAS, 4 SLR rifles, 4 single-shot rifles, one 12 bore gun, a huge quantity of ammunition and other articles. They will get about Rs 10 lakh for the weapons, he said.
The 11-member group was operating in the BGN Division and active in the districts of Kalahandi, Rayagada and Kandhamal.
Panda said after the killing of Central Committee Member (CCM) Ganesh Uike in Kandhamal in December 2025 and continuous and sustained operations, the Maoists were demoralised and decided to surrender and join the mainstream.
Panda said Maoist activities are now limited to the border areas of Kandhamal district. "The operation will be intensified in the coming days involving SOG, DVF, CRPF and BSF in bordering areas of Kandhamal, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts," the ADG said.
