‘Congress Fought Ambedkar, Ruled For So Long But Did Nothing For Us’: Bhim Army Rules Out Support To Priyanka Gandhi

Bhim Army has said that Congress, despite ruling for 60 years has done nothing for Dalits and there is no reason for them to support Congress in Uttar Pradesh in upcoming Lok Sabha polls, reports The Hindu.

“The Congress fought B.R. Ambedkar. The party ruled the country for so long, but did nothing for us. Atrocities were inflicted on Dalits under its rule. It gave rise to the RSS and the BJP,” Mr. Singh alleged. He added, “There’s not a single reason for us to support it,” said party president Vinay Ratan Singh.

The comments come days after Congress leader and Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi went to the Meerut Hospital to meet Chandrashekhar Azad, the leader of the Bhim Army.

Describing the meeting Singh said, “She wanted to meet Chandrashekhar bhai, but he said no. She then made a special request and they met for a few minutes. No political issue figured in their talks.”

In a rally on Friday in Delhi, Azad announced that he will fight against Narendra Modi from Varanasi seat. The party also made clear that a candidate would also be fielded against Union Minister Smriti Irani. The party would also field candidates in Punjab which has a considerable Dalit population. He also sought support of SP-BSP alliance and asked SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to make amends for the mistakes of his party.

Previously, when Azad called Mayawati ‘aunt’, she retorted back saying she can never have relations with “such kind of people", adding that Bhim Army was backed by the BJP and warned tribals, Dalits and backward classes to be wary of such ‘selfish’ organisations.

Asked about Ms. Mayawati terming the Bhim Army a product of the BJP during the 2017 Saharanpur clashes, Singh said, “We would have never supported her and her party had she not been part of the Dalit movement. There are a number of Dalit MPs and MLAs who are not part of this movement. We have nothing to do with them.”