In what can be called as the season of yatras in Uttar Pradesh, after the Congress’ yatras, the Samajwadi Party launched the Mulayam Sandesh Yatra on Saturday.
In what can be called as the season of yatras in Uttar Pradesh, after the Congress’ yatras, the Samajwadi Party launched the Mulayam Sandesh Yatra on Saturday.
The BJP is also preparing for its Parivartan Yatras. Following the trend is former BSP leader R.K. Chaudhary, who quit the party in June accusing BSP chief Mayawati of selling tickets for elections, and will also embark on his ‘Parivartan Yatra’ from Sunday. Mr Chaudhary, a leader of the Pasi community, says he will hold over 100 public meetings in central and eastern UP in the next three weeks. His aim is to alienate the Pasi community from the BSP.
His yatra, which is scheduled to end on October 2 with a rally in Allahabad, will cover 14 districts having a significant population of the Pasi sub-caste in Dalits.
Mr Chaudhary, a founder member of the BSP and a staunch follower of late Kanshi Ram, said, “I am following in the footsteps of late Kanshi Ram, who took out yatras to bring dalits on one platform. I accompanied him to several yatras. He would stop by in Dalit populated areas, spend the night in the village or hamlet and explain his ideology to them. I plan to do the same.”
Mr Chaudhary added his yatra aimed at social change and not just a change of regime.
“Taking a meal at a Dalit’s house will not change the ground realities. The need is to make Dalits realise their power and increase their participation in the mainstream politics. It is time that people stopped treating Dalits as mere vote banks and allowed them to develop as politicians in their own right,” he explained.
Mr Chaudhary’s yatra is likely to create difficulties for BSP president Mayawati because even a small alienation of Pasis from her party could upset her electoral calculations for the upcoming Assembly polls.
Mr Chaudhary has claimed to expose the manner in which Ms Mayawati has “killed” the movement started by late Kanshi Ram.
“She betrayed Dalits who turned her into a political leader. She betrayed her own mentor, late Kanshi Ram, and also the movement he built up so painstakingly. And she did it all for money,” he told the Asian Age on the eve of his yatra.
He said his yatra will start from Parivartan Chowk in Lucknow on Sunday and pass through the districts of Lucknow, Unnao, Kanpur, Hardoi, Sitapur, Kheri, Barabanki, Faizabad, Rae Bareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur before ending in Allahabad.
