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Kanshi Ram calls for Dalit-OBC unity
Indian Express Nashik Oct 9: The president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Kanshi Ram has called for the unity of Dalits and the OBCs to counter the saffron brigade in the country. Addressing a public meeting at Malegaon on Sunday, Kanshi Ram lambasted the Dalit leaders of Maharashtra for failing to reach out to the OBCs. He said that while the strategy of the Republican Party of India in Maharashtra had failed, his BSP had spread out in five northern states and had even come to power in Uttar Pradesh in the past. He said the BJP and other parties were taking advantage of the division between Dalits and the OBCs. He said the move to review the Constitution was a step towards dismantling the principles of equality and social justice enshrined in the Statute. He called for a strong unity to oppose the review of the Constitution. He further said that though the Constitution was based on equality and social justice, the social and economic gap in society had increased over the past five decades because of divisions among the backward classes. He said that Dr Ambedkar's blue flag, which had been confined only to slums, could fly on the Parliament if all backward classes united. He claimed that only the BSP could integrate the "have-nots" and had the potential to lead the struggle for socio-economic equality for the masses. He said the BSP was gaining ground in northern states and had gained the status of a national party already. He asked Dalits and OBCs to shun short-sighted leaders of their communities and join the BSP. |