New Delhi:
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati snapped back Tuesday morning after Congress leader Udit Raj labelled her “the enemy of social justice”, and criticised the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister for having “strangled social welfare movements (of the Dalits and Muslims)”.
Mayawati also claimed a threat to her life after Udit Raj – also a two-time BJP Delhi Lok Sabha MP – said “… (Lord) Krishna told me, ‘first kill your enemy’… now time has come to strangle her”.
In a series of posts on X, Mayawati slammed the Congress for having rejected “at every level, the humanitarian struggle of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar for self-respect for millions of exploited and oppressed Dalits”. Such a party, she said, “…could never be true to his thinking and policies.”
1. बाबा साहेब डा. भीमराव अम्बेडकर के जीतेजी व उनके देहान्त के बाद भी, करोड़ों शोषित-पीड़ित दलितों/बहुजनों के लिए उनके आत्म-सम्मान एवं स्वाभिमान के मानवतावादी संघर्ष का हर स्तर पर तिरस्कार करने वाली खासकर कांग्रेस पार्टी कभी भी इनकी सोच-नीतियों पर खरी व विश्वसनीय नहीं हो सकती।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) February 18, 2025
“Therefore, no matter how many programmes the Congress organises in the name of ‘Jai Bapu’, ‘Jai Bhim’, ‘Jai Mandal’, or ‘Jai Samvidhan’… followers of Babasaheb (Ambedkar) are not going to be misled. They are aware and alert, and are struggling to stand on their own feet,” she raged in Hindi.
3. साथ ही, कुछ दलबदलू अवसरवादी व स्वार्थी दलित लोग अपने आक़ाओं को खुश करने के लिए जो अनर्गल बयानबाजी आदि करते रहते हैं उनसे भी बहुजन समाज को सावधान रहने व उन्हें गंभीरता से नहीं लेने की जरूरत है क्योंकि वे ‘सामाजिक परिवर्तन व आर्थिक मुक्ति’ मूवमेन्ट से अनभिज्ञ व अपरिचित हैं।
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) February 18, 2025
The reference was to the Congress’ outreach this month to Dalit and OBC voters in UP ahead of the Assembly election in the state – widely seen as the BJP’s stronghold – in 2027.
Mayawati, whose own party is seen as struggling for relevance after a dismal run of results in recent state and federal polls, also warned the BSP to be “cautious of some party-changing opportunists and selfish Dalits, who keep making baseless statements to please their masters”.
The sharp jibe was a direct attack on Udit Raj, one of the Dalit community’s more prominent leaders, and his rapid BJP-to-Congress switch weeks before the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Mayawati-Udit Raj clash broke after the former’s remarks Monday.
He seemed to call on the Dalit and Muslim communities to unite to take on their oppressors, saying, “The Muslims cannot fight this alone… the Dalits are also not capable alone.”
He then segued into references to the Mahabharat and Krishna’s advice to Arjun, which led to the crass remark against Mayawati. “When during the war in Mahabharat, Arjun asked Krishna, ‘how will I kill my cousins and relatives’, Krishna said, ‘fight for justice and kill your own people’.”
“Today, my Krishna told me. ‘first kill your enemy’. And the enemy of social justice (is) Mayawati, who strangled the social movement. Now the time has come to strangle her,” he said.
Meanwhile. roused by the comment, Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand, also hit back, accusing Udit Raj of threatening his aunt and calling on the police to arrest him within 24 hours.
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