Kanshi Ram: Sister to mark death anniversary on October 8, a day before Mayawati

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The rally is being organised by National Campaign to Save Bahujan Movement — a group comprising former BSP leaders opposed to Mayawati.

Former BSP MP and spokesperson for the movement Pramod Kureel said: “The real death anniversary of Kanshi Ram is on October 8. He died on that day in 2006, but Mayawati kept it secret till the next day.”

The group has been demanding a probe into Kanshi Ram’s death. It has also been demanding the ouster of Mayawati from the BSP, and is opposed to most of her policies.

Kaur, who has been accusing Mayawati of hijacking Kanshi Ram’s movement and murdering him, had addressed a rally in Agra on March 2015. Last month, former BSP general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya, who had recently joined BJP, had said that if BJP came to power in UP, a probe would be ordered into Kanshi Ram’s death.

“We are planning to intensify our campaign, and may also field candidates in the polls next year. This is election time, so this is obviously important for us. We have chosen Kaushambi as the venue for this rally because it is close to Allahabad, where Kanshi Ram saheb had contested his first Lok Sabha election in 1988. We have held a few programmes in west and central UP, and also wanted to do the same in east UP,” said Kureel.

Mayawati, meanwhile, is slated to address a gathering at Lucknow’s Manyavar Kanshi Ram Eco Garden on October 9 to mark Kanshi Ram’s death anniversary. BSP leaders have been mobilising their supporters to attend the function, which will be the final rally in Mayawati’s first campaign phase. Till now, she has addressed rallies in Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad and Saharanpur.