No conversion till BSP comes to power at Centre: Mayawati

Nagpur, Oct 14 (UNI) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati today declared that she would not convert to Buddhism until her party comes to power at the Centre, on it's own strength.

Although she was not converting, she would follow the principles and rites of Buddhism, Ms Mayawati said while addressing a huge rally held here to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism.

Dalit leader Kanshi Ram, who passed away earlier this week, had resolved to convert to Buddhism only after the BSP comes to power at the Centre, Ms Mayawati said. Late Kanshi Ram had anticipated that BSP would be in power by the 50th anniversary of Dr Ambedkar's conversion, and had dreamt of embracing Buddhism on the golden jubilee, she said.

''Had Kanshi Ram's dream come true, me and Kanshi Ram would have converted together today,'' Ms Mayawati said.

She said she was determined to fulfil his dream and would follow the late leader's resolve not to convert to Buddhism until BSP was in power in New Delhi. Political power was important because only the religion of the rulers prospered in the land while others were ignored, she observed. Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism while on the throne, after which the religion spread in the country, she pointed out.

The BSP would come to power at the Centre only if it managed to capture power in several states first, and party workers must work relentlessly with this aim in mind, Mayawati added.

Kanshi Ram was cremated as per Buddhist rites, as per his will, Ms Mayawati said, adding his supporters ensured the best possible treatment to the leader when he was ailing. With their dedication, workers had ensured that their leader lived much longer than what the doctors had anticipated, she noted. Ms Mayawati criticised the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre for not declaring a day of official mourning upon the leader's death, and lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav for failing to express condolences after Kanshi Ram passed away.

The BSP leader said in spite of Dr Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism in 1956, the religion had not spread in India after independence. This was because the religion had remained restricted to Dalits and people from other communities were not brought into the fold, she said. Secondly, power had remained in the hands of communal forces that only promoted a particular religion, she lamented.

Earlier, activists of the BSP from the city presented Mayawati with a purse for Rupees one lakh and a sword.

Without naming Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray, Ms Mayawati lashed out at him for his alleged unsavoury comments about the late Kanshiram in the party mouthpiece. A leader who was not able to address the Dussehra rally in Mumbai this year wrote something bad about our leader in his paper, she said.

However, the leader should be forgiven as he was getting old and does not know what he is saying or writing, the BSP chief said.

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