Rahul Gandhi blamed past Congress policies for the rise of Dalit parties like BSP. Admitting past mistakes, he said had the party acted rightly, Dalits would not have drifted. He promised a central role for Dalits within Congress going forward.
Without explicitly naming anyone, including the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attributed the rise and strengthening of parties catering to the Dalit vote bank solely to the policies of the Congress itself.
'Congress's Fault Led to Rise of Dalit Parties'
Addressing a meeting of the party's Scheduled Castes Department at the Congress headquarters on Monday, Rahul Gandhi stated that had the Congress taken the appropriate measures for Dalits during the 1980s and 90s, neither would caste-based regional parties have emerged, nor would the Dalit community have gravitated toward them. Signalling a shift, Rahul Gandhi further asserted that Dalits would now play a central role within the Congress party.
Sources present at the meeting revealed that Rahul Gandhi praised BSP founder Kanshi Ram, noting that he succeeded in uniting the Dalit community and instilling a sense of self-confidence within them.
According to sources, Rahul Gandhi remarked during the meeting that the BJP is, on one hand, seeking to dismantle regional parties, while on the other, it is stripping Dalits of their rights. Atrocities against Dalits are on the rise. In this context, the Congress will champion the rights of Dalits, and they will occupy a pivotal position within the party. The Congress, he affirmed, will fulfil the dreams of Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
A Broader Strategy to Woo Dalit and Backward Classes
Just a year ago, Rahul Gandhi had publicly acknowledged that the Congress had neglected the OBC community; he had even offered an apology for this at the time. Now, Rahul has articulated a nearly identical sentiment regarding the Dalit community. Essentially, through these efforts, Rahul is attempting to establish a strong foothold within the Dalit and backward communities.
During the recent Lok Sabha elections, he held rallies while holding a copy of the Constitution, asserting that the Constitution was under threat during the Modi government's tenure. It is widely believed that this strategy yielded dividends for the Congress and the INDIA alliance among the Dalit electorate. Regarding the OBC category, Rahul Gandhi had advocated for a caste census. Collectively, these initiatives contributed to a doubling of the Congress party's seat tally in the Lok Sabha.
Eye on Uttar Pradesh Elections
With the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in mind, Rahul Gandhi appears to be intensifying his outreach campaign directed at the Dalit and backward classes.
Last week, in his parliamentary constituency of Raebareli, he unveiled a statue of Veera Pasi, a freedom fighter hailing from the Dalit community, and also addressed a Bahujan Sabha.
A day earlier, Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Chairman of the Congress party's Scheduled Castes Department, had made an unsuccessful attempt to meet Mayawati by visiting her residence in Lucknow.
The extent to which Rahul's strategy, involving an acknowledgement of the Congress party's past missteps regarding Dalits and a move to assign them a pivotal role within the party, will prove successful remains to be seen and will only become clear during the elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)