Amidst the high-voltage elections in Bengal and Assam, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has further raised the political temperature by demanding Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram, a prominent leader of the Bahujan movement. Amidst the political debate surrounding the Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram, Congress has hit back at the BJP and shared a list of its Dalit Chief Ministers.
Congress says that as soon as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised the demand for the Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram, BJP MPs questioned how many Dalit Chief Ministers the Congress has appointed so far. Congress responded by stating that it was the Congress that first appointed a Dalit leader as Chief Minister in India. According to the party, Congress governments have given opportunities to many Dalit leaders to become Chief Ministers in various states.
Rajendra Pal Gautam, Chairman of the Congress SC Department, said, “As soon as Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi demanded the Bharat Ratna for Honorable Kanshi Ram, BJP MPs began asking how many Dalit Chief Ministers the Congress had appointed. For their information, it was the Congress that appointed a Dalit Chief Minister for the first time in India.”
The Congress has also shared a list of Dalit Chief Ministers on X, which is as follows:
Damodaram Sanjivayya – Andhra Pradesh
Bhola Paswan Shastri – Bihar
Jagannath Pahadia – Rajasthan
Sushil Kumar Shinde – Maharashtra
Charanjit Singh Channi – Punjab