Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to Kanshi Ram ahead of birth anniversary, vows to fight for marginalised

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday (March 13, 2026) in Lucknow, paid tribute to Kanshi Ram, the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), describing the late leader as a fighter who struggled all his life for the equality and social justice of marginalised communities.

Mr. Gandhi was addressing a ‘Samvidhan Sammelan’ programme organised at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan ahead of the Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary. Mr. Gandhi accepted that the Congress was unsuccessful in fully discharging its responsibilities in the past, which forced leaders like Kanshi Ram to chart their own political path.

“Today we remember Kanshi Ram ji’s struggle, his vision, and his influence on Indian politics. I thank him wholeheartedly. We pledge to follow his path and fight for the issues of marginalised sections. If the Congress had functioned effectively at that time, Kanshi Ram would not have needed to wage a separate struggle,” he said.

Mr. Gandhi alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is depriving the Dalit and other marginalised communities of their basic rights and attempting to centralise power. “Mr. Modi and the BJP Government are undermining the protections that were provided to poor people of the country and attempting to centralise power. They (the BJP) are taking away all the money of the country and giving it to selected industrialists,” said Mr. Gandhi.

The Congress leader claimed that if his great-grandfather, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had been alive at the time of Kanshi Ram’s rise, he would have been made Chief Minister from the Congress. “If Jawaharlal Nehru were alive, then Kanshi Ram would have been a Chief Minister from the Congress,” he said. 

During the programme, a proposal was also passed demanding Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, for Kanshi Ram. The Congress leader urged people to examine the composition of the country’s bureaucracy, corporate sector and top management of companies, adding that Dalits, Adivasis, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and other marginalised sections have little representation in these structures. “In the contrary, if we see the list of MGNREGA workers, people from these communities are in overwhelming numbers,” said Mr. Gandhi.

Further targeting the BJP government, the leader of the Opposition alleged that the Prime Minister has compromised the energy security of the country. “Narendra Modi has compromised the energy security of the country, because now America is deciding where we will get oil from. When I mentioned Epstein’s name in Parliament, the Speaker stopped me from speaking. Minister Hardeep Puri is already compromised. His name appears in the Epstein files, and he was a friend of Epstein,” he said. 

Asserting that the Congress party takes inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar, Mr. Gandhi added that the grand-old-party wants to empower the common people and marginalised. “This is the Congress party’s design from Gandhi’s time, to empower the common people. We want to make every Indian educated and provide them equal rights and opportunities,” he said. 

Congress leaders said the visit energised the party workers and marginalised communities, giving them motivation to fight for issues of these social groups. “Mr. Gandhi spoke about the vision of Kanshi Ram for the downtrodden sections, which is more relevant than ever, as the present government is doing injustice to people of these communities through their policies,” said Anil Yadav, a senior U.P. Congress leader. 

Mr. Gandhi’s visit before the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, which is on March 15, is seen as an attempt by Congress to mobilise Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in view of the upcoming Assembly polls in the State slated early next year. The Dalits constitute roughly 21% out of the total electorate in U.P. and considered crucial in the State’s electoral calculus.