Mayawati makes brother BSP vice-president on condition he won't contest polls

Bahuajan Samajwadi Party (BSP) Mayawati supremo on Friday made her brother Anand Kumar the party vice-president on condition that he would never contest polls.

Mayawati informed her party workers that her brother would never contest elections to become an MP and MLA or the chief minister.

"I announce my brother Anand Kumar as the party's national vice-president on the condition that he will never become an MP, MLA or the chief minister," she said.

Addressing a large gathering at the Ambedkar Park here on the occasion of birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, Mayawati also highlighted the plight of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

On the plight of SCs, STs and OBCs, she described them as 'double slaves' during the British rule in India.

"Shudras, ati-Shudras and other backwards were double ghulams (slaves) during the British rule: first of the British, and second of the Hindutva forces. They were deprived of rights to study, voting and even doing business. The only work of the people from SCs, STs and OBCs was to become slaves of the upper caste Hindus. They used to live a life worse than an animal," said Mayawati.

"Due to these problems, the SCs, STs and OBCs converted into different religions like Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and Parsis," she said, adding that 90 percent population today of the Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Parsis is converted SCs, STs, and OBCs.

The BSP leader said in order to uplift the living standards of the SCs, STs and OBCs, late Kanshiram founded the BSP on April 14, 1984, and decided to take those along who had converted into different religions.

She said keeping the converted SCs, STs and OBCs in mind, Baba Saheb Ambedkar constituted the Indian Constitution on secularism and not on Hinduism.

On the request of Baba Saheb Amdedkar, the British constituted a committee in 1928 to identify Shudras, ati-Shudras and OBCs and made Baba Ambedkar a member of it.

"At that time also, the casteist forces tried hard to put hurdles in the identification of shudras, anti-shudras and OBCs fearing if they are identified in large numbers then they might get 'political key' once the British leave India," she said.

For the first time, she talked about her health.

"One of the two glands in my throat was removed by doctors in an operation in 1996, and so, I cannot stress my throat too much," Mayawati said.