LUCKNOW: A revolt like situation cropped up in Ambedkar Mahasabha on Thursday, a day after its president Lalji Prasad Nirmal announced to confer the title of ‘Dalit Mitra’ on UP chief minister Adityanath Yogi on the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar on April 14.
Taking a strong note of the Mahasabha president’s decision and subsequent announcement, two senior founding members of the body -- Harish Chandra and SR Darapuri -- sought an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to initiate disciplinary action against Nirmal accusing him of going beyond his ambit of authority in the matter. They felt that in the present dispensation, the graph of atrocities against has soared.
While Darapuri, retired IPS officer, believed that there was anger amongst Dalits because of atrocities inflicted on them in the present times. He claimed that Dalits felt themselves at the receiving end as they were being allegedly implicated in cases and NSA was being invoked. He cited the example of Bhim Sena chief Chandrashekhar Ravan who was held last year in connection with Saharanpur caste conflagration and NSA was slapped on him.
Similarly, Harish Chandra, retired IAS officer, said that the decision to constitute such an award was taken without taking the mahasabha members into confidence. “The Mahasabha was constituted to spread the ideas and principles of Ambedkar and not to serve personal interests of anyone,'' Chandra said, in an apparent jibe at Nirmal, who is believed to be eyeing a UP legislative council seat on BJP ticket.
According to Chandra, there were more than 100 members, many from the government services, when the Ambedkar Mahasabha was constituted in 1990. Both Chandra and Darapuri are life time members of the Mahasabha.
Nirmal, however, countered the allegations and justified his decision saying that there was nothing wrong in conferring the `Dalit Mitra’ award on CM Yogi who was a friend of everyone living in UP. “He is therefore also a friend of Dalits as well,” added Nirmal, who retired from the UP secretariat services before becoming president of the Mahasabha in 2013. He also rubbished the charges of anticipation of some personal gain behind CM’s felicitation.