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

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Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram in Lucknow on Friday, March 14, 2026, describing the late leader as a warrior who fought for equality and social justice of marginalized communities all his life.

Mr. Gandhi was addressing the ‘Samvidhan Sammelan’ program held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan ahead of Kanshi Ram’s birth anniversary. Mr. Gandhi acknowledged that the Congress had failed to fully discharge its responsibilities in the past, forcing leaders like Kanshi Ram to chart their own political path.

“Today we remember the struggle, vision and impact of Kanshi Ram ji on Indian politics. I thank him from the bottom of my heart. We promise to follow his path and fight for the problems of the marginalized sections. If the Congress had functioned effectively during that period, there would have been no need for Kanshi Ram to wage a separate struggle,” he said.

Mr Gandhi alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was depriving Dalits and other marginalized communities of their basic rights and trying to centralize power. “Mr. Modi and the BJP Government are undermining the protections provided to the poor people of the country and trying to centralize power. They (BJP) are taking all the money of the country and giving it to selected industrialists,” Mr. Gandhi said.

The Congress leader claimed that if his great-grandfather, India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, had been alive during the rise of Kanshi Ram, he would have been appointed Prime Minister from the Congress. “If Jawaharlal Nehru had been alive, Kanshi Ram would have been the Congress chief minister,” he said.

During the programme, a proposal seeking the award of India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, to Kanshi Ram was also accepted. The Congress leader urged people to examine the structure of the bureaucracy, corporate sector and senior management of companies in the country, adding that Dalits, Adivasis, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and other marginalized sections are very under-represented in these structures. “On the contrary, if we look at the list of MGNREGA workers, we find that people from these communities are in overwhelming numbers,” Mr. Gandhi said.

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

Claiming that the Congress party was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar, Mr Gandhi added that the grand party wanted to empower the common people and the marginalised. “This is something that the Congress party designed from the time of Gandhi to empower the people. We want every Indian to be educated and to provide them with equal rights and opportunities,” he said.

Congress leaders said the visit energized party workers and marginalized communities, giving them motivation to fight for the issues of these social groups. Anil Yadav, a senior leader of UP Congress, said: “Mr Gandhi talked about Kanshi Ram’s vision for the oppressed sections, which is more relevant than ever because the present government is doing injustice to the people of these communities through its policies.”

Mr Gandhi’s visit ahead of March 15, the birth anniversary of Kanshi Ram, is being seen as an attempt by the Congress to mobilize Dalits in Uttar Pradesh in view of Assembly elections scheduled to be held in the state early next year. Dalits constitute roughly 21% of the total voters in UP and are vital in the state’s electoral calculus.