Unne mere veer no khatam karta

BUNGA SAHIB: Sitting on a staircase leading to the statue of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram, two giant white jumbos on either side, at their house tucked away in Pirthipur village in Punjab's Ropar district, his siblings Swaran Kaur (70) and Harbans Singh (68), look glum as they ponder over his 'lost legacy'.Living a life of anonymity, they are visibly perturbed over the "meglomaniac acts" of BSP supremo Mayawati and have pledged never to vote for the party which their brother founded in 1984.(Mayawati finished my brother who formed the BSP and took her into the party). To fructify her secret ambitions of first becoming the CM and then a PM, she has become a meglomaniac. For us, our brush with the BSP is over forever," says Kaur breaking into tears.She is quick to recall how their mother was forced to trade her jewellery worth Rs 30 lakh in 2003 as well as Rs 2.5 lakh to catch a glimpse of her son, but was not allowed near him even then."Her (Mayawati's) self-obsession is palpable. She did not like attention being diverted from her by the illness of Kanshi Ram. She ensured that whatever little money we had was lost, and we remained poverty-stricken and without any say. Despite the jewellery and cash she took from us, we were never allowed to meet Kanshi Ram," she says.Harbans sports a turban and Kaur has never trimmed her hair. The duo reminisce about their eldest brother, who too was born as a Sikh, but was given a Hindu name by their maternal grandfather. The family belongs to Ravidasia community, a Dalit sect named after Guru Ravidass, a 15th century saint whose devotional songs are included in the Sikh's holy book, Guru Granth Sahib.They rattle off names of some of the leaders who came to visit Kanshi Ram's home and seek Dalit support in the last one year. The list, they insist, cuts across political parties. The more recent visitors include Congress's Anandpur Sahib candidate Ambika Soni, Punjab Congress chief and Gurdaspur candidate Partap Bajwa and Congress-People's Party of Punjab (PPP) Bathinda candidate Manpreet Badal."Ropar district is part of Ambika ji's constituency. The day she filed her nomination she came and met us. It really lifted our spirits that people in Congress too remember Kanshi Ram ji. Akali Dal's Jalandhar candidate Pawan Kumar Tinu met us on Kanshi Ram's birthday in March last year," added Harbans.The two are upset with their younger sister Kulwant Kaur, who they say is still a Mayawati supporter.Kanshi Ram's siblings may be dismissive about Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, but they are divided when it comes to making a choice between Congress and BJP.