Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 26 (ANI): Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Thursday paid heartfelt tributes to Rajarshi Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj on his birth anniversary, hailing him as the pioneer of reservation in India.

In a post on X, Mayawati urged the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh to restore the original name of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj Medical University without further delay, which had been renamed during the Samajwadi Party's tenure.

'The sooner this is done, the better,' she said.

https://x.com/Mayawati/status/1938092681390899218

Mayawati remembered the progressive ruler of Maharashtra's Kolhapur for his 'revolutionary step of granting reservation in jobs to Dalits' and said he had become immortal in Indian history.

'On his birth anniversary today, I offer heartfelt tributes and boundless reverence to him, along with warm congratulations and best wishes to all his followers,' the BSP Chief added.

In a politically charged statement, she also said that the Dalits, tribals, and backwards classes in India were being systematically 'rendered ineffective' in their constitutional right to reservation.

She added, 'In the absence of their own BSP government and the emergence of the majority as the ruling class, efforts are being made to make them helpless, compelled, and enslaved again.'

Mayawati stressed that in such times, remembering Rajarshi Shahu's humane values and historic role in establishing justice became more important.

She highlighted that during her four terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the BSP government had 'undertaken numerous works of historical significance' in honour of Shahu Maharaj.

She pointed out that the BSP had named a new district and educational institutions and erected grand statues in his memory. She specifically mentioned the establishment and swift operationalisation of the Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj Medical University in Lucknow.

However, Mayawati strongly criticised the Samajwadi Party government, accusing it of being 'opposed to Dalits, backwards classes, and their reservation rights.' She said the SP government had forcibly renamed the university to King George Medical University, despite the existence of a similarly named college already in Lucknow.

'It is unfortunate that even after such a long time, the BJP government that came to power in UP after the Samajwadi Party has not yet made the necessary changes/reforms in the public interest to address such a deeply malicious and casteist attitude of the Samajwadi Party,' Mayawati said. (ANI)