New Delhi: Hoping that Dalits will be the backbone of the Congress in time to come, party Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he would strive to bring forward leadership from the community in the coming elections.
Reaching out to Dalits, the Gandhi scion said, “It will be our effort to give maximum representation to Dalits in coming elections.
He promised to open “locked doors” for Dalits and attacked BSP supremo Mayawati for not grooming leadership.Rahul said BSP founder Kansi Ram started a movement to empower Dalits but it came to a standstill after he died.
“You ask in UP for five Dalit leaders and the answer you will hear is Mayawati, Mayawati, Mayawati, Mayawati and Mayawati... I want that there should be a queue of leaders at all levels, in UP, Delhi, at block levels, in villages...,” he said.
Rahul was addressing a meet, National Dialogue on Social Disparity, organised by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in New Delhi.
He said he would stand by them to ensure their progress irrespective of the amount of time it takes.
No political party was giving equal rights to Dalits, he said, adding a systemic discrimination against the community existed.
He vowed to fight against it and said it would be a long battle.
He said a few people in each party decide on who would fight elections.
There may be 100 such people in Congress, 80 in BJP, two or three in SP and one in BSP, Rahul said, calling for a change in the present order so that leaders were thrown up from among the people.
Rahul also spoke on his travel through Uttar Pradesh and said Dalits were discriminated.
In schools, when I asked teachers who were the most intelligent students in their classes, they pointed to some sitting in the front bench while those in the back-benches were least bright, he said, adding that upper castes students would be in front benches while Dalits sat in back benches.
Rahul has been making concerted attempts to win back Dalit support base from BSP in Uttar Pradesh, which would be an important factor in its electoral fortune in the polls scheduled for early next year, but without much success.
He mentioned Food Security Bill, passed by Lok Sabha yesterday and is being seen by the ruling party as a game-changer before elections, and Right to Information Act to stress his party’s commitment to people’s welfare.
“Dalits will have to keep faith in Congress,” he said.
Congress MP from Barabanki and chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes P.L. Punia said whatever has been done till date for Dalits is done by the Congress only. “Indiraji gave this programme to put additional budget for the SC and ST categories. Right of education, Right of Empowerment or the forest rights of tribal have been established for their benefit. Mayawatiji has done nothing. She sent here a letter that they won’t implement this programme due to the lack of finances,” Punia added.
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