Mayawati shattering dreams of Ambedkar, Kanshi Ram: Congress

LUCKNOW: The Congress on Monday alleged that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was shattering the dreams of her ideologues - B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram - of evolving a "united Dalit samaj" by naming the caste of her political heir.

"By naming a Chamar as her political heir (at a party convention here last week), she has tried to divide the united Dalit society which was the dream of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram whose ideology she claims to been pursuing," Congress general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in the state, Digvijay Singh, told reporters here.

"Though it is an internal matter of the BSP, the practice of naming heirs is not an appropriate thing in democracy," Singh said, adding that it was also wrong to try and divide the Dalit society to realise her personal dreams.

"The dreams of Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram cannot be realised merely by putting up their giant statues," he said.

Referring to Mayawati's accusations that Congress might try and get her eliminated, Singh asked her to get the matter properly investigated if she had any such information.

"As per my reports, people close to her are trying to keep her away from the people and her supporters by tricking her into believing that she faced a threat to her life," he said, without giving the names of those who could be feeding her with such baseless reports.

He said by repeating such allegations, Mayawati had been trying to "emotionally blackmail her supporters".