Stop Dalit Atrocities or We’ll Convert to Buddhism, Warns Mayawati

Mayawati was speaking at a party summit in Nagpur, only a few kilometres from the RSS headquarters.

‘Stop atrocities on Dalits and backward castes, or we will convert to Buddhism,’ warned Mayawati on Sunday, 10 December. The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo was cautioning the BJP and its parent organisation, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, reported The Hindu.

Mayawati was speaking at a party summit in Nagpur. Invoking BR Ambedkar, Mayawati said:

Dr Ambedkar had made an announcement in 1935 that he was born a Hindu but he won’t die a Hindu. He gave 21 years to Hindu religious leaders to reform. But when there was no change in their attitude, he converted to Buddhism in 1956 in Nagpur. We thought the contractors and custodians of the Hindu religion would change after his conversion and give respect to the Dalit and backward caste communities. But they continue to exploit the backward communities and the Dalits. Today, I want to warn the BJP and the RSS that if they don’t change their disrespectful, casteist and communal behaviour towards the Dalits and backward caste people and their leaders, I will also convert to Buddhism with my crores of followers.

Mayawati

She added that she too would give the BJP and RSS time to reform themselves, and would take a call on converting to Buddhism “at an appropriate time like Ambedkar.”

To further drive home her point, Mayawati said the BJP and RSS were exploiting Dalits, tribals, farmers, and businessmen, emboldening their ‘Hindutva agenda’.

The BJP government failed to fulfil even 1/4th of their assurances made after Lok Sabha polls. The GST and demonetisation had added to the people’s woes. The NDA is facing opposition to its policies from its own constituents. New India can’t be built by just ‘Jumlebazi’.

Times of India quoted Mayawati

This is not the first time Mayawati has threatened to convert to Buddhism. In October this year too, she threw an open challenge to the BJP.

I throw an open challenge to the BJP to change its casteist and communal mindset towards Dalits, Adivasis, Backwards and also those who have changed their religion or else I will also have to take a decision towards changing my religion to Buddhism.

Mayawati in October 2017

Accusing the BJP of taking the "casteist agenda" of the RSS forward, she had blamed it for the suicide of Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad and the Una case of Gujarat where some Dalits were assaulted resulting in outrage and protests.