Maya govt has done nothing for Dalits: Darapuri

SR Darapuri, vice president of the Ambedkar Mahasabha has accused Mayawati government of doing nothing for the Dalits. TSI’s Puja Awasthi talks to him over condition of Dalits in Mayawati’s regime.

Has Mayawati failed to fulfill the Dalit agenda?
Mayawati never had a Dalit agenda. The only time she did something for the Dalits was in 1995 when land was redistributed and Dalit officers were posted on sensitive and important posts. This time there has been
nothing done specifically for the Dalits as schemes such as those for pensions for widows, disabled and the old have come from the centre.

Other schemes which could have had an impact on Dalits such as MNREGA have been eaten into by corruption. The Kanshi Ram housing scheme for urban poor started too late to make a difference. Since the BSP never puts out a manifesto one does not know what the agenda is. Now of course the party is no longer talking of Dalits but of sarvjan, the Dalit will be at the tail end of this sarvjan.

How has the BSP’s rise in power impacted the Dalit movement?
The Dalit movement has been set on the wrong direction. Dr Ambedkar’s struggle was for a classless and caste less society. Now it is all about caste politics. Any kind of wheeling, dealing is possible to get to power. There is a very big element of corruption in the Dalit cadres now.

Since this is the first time the BSP came to power with a complete majority, is it not too soon to judge the party’s performance?
A start could have been made in these five years. Yet no schemes for Dalit empowerment were made. Had schemes been formulated, successive governments would have been forced to implement them. Even existing structures like the finance commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have become non functional.

What about the party’s claim that crimes against Dalits have fallen?
There has been a deliberate attempt to keep crime figures low by not lodging FIRs at the police station. Victims have been actively discouraged with the rider that since Mayawati has to become PM a poor
crime record will impact her prospects negatively. With this deterrence missing, crimes have increased. Since crimes were not registered, Dalits were also deprived of the compensation they used to get under the law.

What is your opinion on the statues? Statues are a means of emotional satisfaction. They have generated a feeling of empowerment. But how is that empowerment to be sustained?
There are no economic means for that. Also there has been no sense of proportion in erecting of statues. The scale is too big. Why could not have colleges and hospitals be set up in the names of those icons whose statues have been installed.

If there is dissatisfaction with the BSP why has an alternative Dalit leadership not emerged?
A lack of political education and economic constraints has prevented that from happening. Those who claim to be alternatives have narrow agendas and are geared to self promotion. It is wrong to think of Dalits as a monolith. Caste fissures among Dalits have sharpened over the years. Dalit political outfits do not have a larger agenda and in purely a caste agenda they are not able to compete with the BSP.

Will this election mark the end of Mayawati’s hold on the Dalit vote?
The change started to happen in the last Lok Sabha elections itself when the BSP lost 4% of its vote share. It is now clear that even if the party is in power, it is not the Dalit ministers who will have a say or an upperhand. Among the Dalits too, the Jatavs and Chamars are more dominant. Mayawati will lose ground in this election as Dalits have realized that caste politics has not given them any benefits.