3 min readLucknowMar 16, 2026 09:17 AM IST
Paying tribute to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram on his birth anniversary, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday described him as a pioneer of social justice.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav supported the demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on the BSP founder, as he hailed his contributions in uniting and empowering the Bahujan community.
“Dalit, shoshit evam vanchit ke utthaan hetu apna sampoorn jeevan arpit karne wale samajik nyay ke purodha aur Bahujan Samaj Party ke sansthapak manyavar Kanshi Ram ji ki jayanti par meri vinamra shraddhanjali (My humble tributes on the birth anniversary of Manyavar Kanshi Ramji, founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party and a pioneer of social justice, who dedicated his entire life to the upliftment of Dalits, the oppressed and the deprived) said Adityanath.
SP chief Akhilesh, who was in Mumbai, while addressing a press conference on Sunday highlighted the need to continue the fight for social justice and equality as envisioned by Dr B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram.
“Kanshi Ramji followed Ambedkar’s vision to secure rights and justice for marginalised communities.There was a time when Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Kanshi Ramji formed a joint government in UP, also strengthening the BSP,” he said.
Responding to a query, Yadav said, “We feel Kanshi Ram should be given Bharat Ratna honour.” Yadav disclosed that he aligned with the BSP in 2019 with the aim of supporting “Mayawati as a potential Prime Ministerial candidate, though the alliance didn’t succeed”.
“Kanshi Ramji worked for uniting and empowering the Bahujan community. The Samajwadi Party will uphold these ideals in future political struggles. There is a need to continue the fight for social justice and equality as envisioned by B R Ambedkar and Kanshi Ramji,” the SP leader added.
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Meanwhile, the SP leaders organised events across Uttar Pradesh to mark the day as “Bahujan Samaj” and “PDA Divas”.
National president of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), and Lok Sabha MP from Nagina Chandra Shekhar Aazad also hailed Kanshi Ram for awakening a community which was “sleeping”.
In a post on X, Aazad said, “My humble salutations and respectful tributes to the bahujan icon, Manyavar Sahib Kanshi Ram ji, on the occasion of his birth anniversary; and heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to you all on the 6th Foundation Day of the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram).”
