Kanshi Ram should be given the Bharat Ratna: Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Tuesday demanded the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, for late Kanshi Ram.

"The political parties, which are talking about Kanshi Ram ji today, were against reservation and had opposed his ideology. The weaker section of the society is not going to fall for this," Mayawati told the media outside the Parliament here.

"I think it would be appropriate and justifiable to honour Kashi Ram ji with Bharat Ratna. I have proposed this thing in the assembly," she added.

The BSP chief earlier raised this issue in the Parliament and demanded the country's highest civilian award for Kanshi Ram.

"Today being Kanshi Ram ji's birthday, I urge the government to pay tribute to him for his contribution and life-long work for upliftment of the poor and socially backward people. The government should honour him with Bharat Ratna," Mayawati said in the Rajya Sabha.

"Respected Kanshi Ram ji worked throughout his life to help the weaker sections of people," she said.

Kanshi Ram, who is also known as Bahujan Nayak Saheb Kanshi Ram, was the founder of BSP. He was born on March 15, 1934, worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of the Dalits and untouchable groups at the bottom of the caste system in India.