A day after Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the Congress president, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Thursday accused the Congress party of remembering Dalits only in its bad times. The 80-year-old Dalit leader from Karnataka, Kharge trounced Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor in a historic election to become the first non-Gandhi to head the Congress in 24 years.
The Congress presidential election was held on October 17. Considered a loyalist of the Gandhis, Kharge will take over as the Congress president on October 26.
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In a series of tweets, Mayawati said, “The history of Congress is a witness that they have always neglected/disdained the messiah of the downtrodden Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and his society. This party does not remember the safety and honor of Dalits in its good days, but makes them a scapegoat in bad days.
“The Congress remembers non-Dalits in the long run of its good days and keeps Dalits in the forefront on its bad days, as being witnessed at present. Is this not deceit and pseudo politics? People ask, is this the real love of the Congress towards Dalits?” the BSP chief said in the Twitter thread (in Hindi).
Kharge had swept the Presidential polls with 7,897 votes, with Tharoor securing 1,072 votes.
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Following his win, Tharoor wrote on Twitter, “It is a great honour and a huge responsibility to be President of @INCIndia and I wish @Khargeji all success in that task. It was a privilege to have received the support of over a thousand colleagues, and to carry the hopes and aspirations of so many well-wishers of Congress across India.”