Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday said the vast population of Uttar Pradesh has seen how the party under the leadership of "iron lady" values action over words.

Paying tributes to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder late Kanshi Ram on his 91st birth anniversary, Mayawati said, "Today, on the birth anniversary of the founder of BSP Kanshi Ram Ji, the party across the country paid homage to him and resolved to strengthen his movement for social change and economic liberation.

"To liberate the 'Bahujan Samaj' from the troubled life of immense poverty, unemployment, exploitation, oppression, backwardness, casteism, communal violence and tension, it is necessary to understand the power of your precious vote and obtain the master key to power. This is the message of today."

Referring to herself as "iron lady", the BSP supremo said, "The vast population of Uttar Pradesh has seen how the BSP under the leadership of 'iron lady' believes more in action than in words. It ensured the all-around development of the Bahujans when in power, while most claims made by the other parties proved baseless and deceptive."

Born in Punjab's Rupnagar on March 15, 1934, Kanshi Ram worked for the upliftment and political mobilisation of people belonging to backward classes.

He founded the All India Backwards and Minorities Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF) in 1971, the Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti in 1981, before forming the BSP in 1984.

Kanshi Ram was elected to the Lok Sabha from Etawah in Uttar Pradesh in 1991 and from Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1996. He also served as a Rajya Sabha member from 1998 to 2004.

The BSP stalwart passed away on October 9, 2006, in Delhi at the age of 71.