Lucknow

BSP chief Mayawati on Friday urged Dalits and other marginalised sections to fight injustice through constitutional means and refrain from taking to the streets, asserting that political empowerment through the ballot remains the key to securing their rights.

Her appeal comes in light of protests related to law and order by Dalits in districts like Meerut, Saharanpur, Hardoi and Prayagraj.

Protest over the murder of a Dalit woman in Meerut had taken a violent turn on Thursday as those agitating attempted to force their way into the district magistrate's office after breaking the main gate and assaulted police and administrative officials despite repeated requests to disperse. Eleven policemen were injured in the incident.

Addressing a select press briefing here, Mayawati said B R Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution and a champion of Dalits and other deprived sections, had ensured several constitutional, legal and fundamental rights for these communities through his wisdom and foresight despite opposition from casteist forces.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said Ambedkar had also stressed that these sections should acquire the "master key" of political power by taking control of government through the strength of their votes so that they could effectively safeguard their rights and interests.

Mayawati said BSP founder Kanshi Ram acted upon Ambedkar's vision by forming the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to politically empower the deprived sections.

She further said Ambedkar had consistently advised people that their struggle against injustice, oppression and caste discrimination should always remain within the framework of the law.

According to her, Ambedkar had maintained that if justice was denied in lower courts, people should pursue their cases in higher courts, including the Supreme Court, rather than taking the law into their own hands.

Referring to incidents in districts such as Meerut, Saharanpur, Prayagraj and Hardoi, as well as similar developments in other states, Mayawati said people should refrain from taking to the streets in protest.

"Certain organisations and political parties, driven by narrow political interests, mislead and provoke members of oppressed communities into launching protests," she said.

"Such organisations, first instigate violence, disturbances and road blockades, and later their leaders visit the affected areas to shed crocodile tears and derive political mileage from the incidents," Mayawati said.

"This neither ensures justice for the victims nor helps the affected communities. In the prevailing circumstances, it only aggravates their hardships," she said.

Mayawati said the solution to the problems faced by Dalits and other deprived sections lies in following the peaceful path shown by Ambedkar by remaining united and using the power of the vote to secure political authority.

She said the BSP has remained committed to this objective and urged people not to deviate from this path.

The BSP chief also cautioned members of these communities to remain particularly vigilant against such organisations and political parties, especially with Assembly, Lok Sabha and local body elections approaching.

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She further said that, given the present circumstances, people from these sections should draw lessons from the Poona Pact and the teachings of Gautam Buddha. The Poona Act was signed by Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi to increase the political representation of the depressed classes.