Mayawati asks cadre to unite, fight casteist forces in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: BSP president Mayawati on Friday invoked "nationalism" while paying tributes to Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on his birth anniversary in Lucknow and said loyalty towards Indianness is above the loyalty towards one's religion, language, state or culture.
"Babasaheb had said that he wanted people to be Indian and stay Indian till the end and nothing else. This is the only way to take the country forward and it needs to be followed in the right spirit," she said. The former CM said: "Despite having in place a Constitution that guarantees public welfare, Congress and BJP governments failed to ensure welfare and development of poor and deprived sections of people. That created a need for Bahujan Samaj Party, which was formed on April 14, 1984. After BSP was formed, the political scenario changed to a great extent in UP, where the party had been in power four times."
She added that "For this, we need to appreciate the efforts of people from the sarv samaj and especially those from the bahujan samaj. People in UP should keep this spirit alive." Mayawati also expressed gratitude towards her party cadre for its devotion and commitment and cautioned them against casteist and divisive forces.
"People in UP have gone through enough in the Congress, Samajwadi Party and now the BJP regimes and there is a desperation (among people) to break free," she said.
She also recounted the work done by her government to uphold the legacy of Ambedkar in Lucknow and other districts, like construction of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sthal, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Gomti Park, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar auditorium and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow.
"Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida was constructed to show reverence to not only Babasaheb but other Dalit icons as well who were ignored by other regimes," she said.