Mumbai, Dec. 9 :    Mumbai, Dec. 9:  Ram Raj is doing what the likes of Kanshi Ram have failed to achieve: using conversion as a political weapon for the Dalits. 'The BJP government through its anti-poor policies has spelled doom for the Dalits. The longer it stays in power, the more Dalits will embrace Buddhism,' said Ram Raj, an Indian Revenue Service officer who rattled the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government last month by converting tens of thousands of Dalits to Buddhism in the face of strong protests by the Sangh parivar. But Ram Raj, who changed his name to Udit Raj along with his religion, says his fight is not just against the right-wing parties but also those who claim to represent the Dalits. 'What have these Dalit leaders done for Dalits?' he asked, referring to Bahujan Samaj Party chief Kanshi Ram. 'They have never addressed the real issues.' Dalit leaders have survived by 'mouthing' what B.R. Ambedkar had said on the pitiable living and social conditions of the Dalits, he said. 'They did nothing but criticise the Hindu upper castes. Their sole aim is to rally the Dalits behind for votes and not to solve their problems.' Had these Dalit leaders done their 'jobs, I would not have been here today', Raj said. 'There is a big vacuum and I am trying to fill that.' Like other Dalit leaders, Ram Raj, a joint commissioner of income-tax who has the photo of Ambedkar embossed on his business card, too swears by Ambedkar, but says he is different. 'What sets me apart is that I never indulge in what they do. I do not criticise the Hindu upper caste people. I am fighting an ideological and cultural battle for the Dalits,' he said. The 1988-batch IRS officer got into Dalit politics in 1997. 'I don't know how it all happened. But I am a product of circumstances.' Four years later, he is chairman of the All India Confederation of SC and ST Organisations and president of the Lord Buddha Club, an organisation of neo-Buddhists. Ram Raj says he wanted to wipe off the caste system from the face of the country, but also wants reservations to continue. 'Reservation should actually be extended to private enterprises, since under the new economic policies, there will be fewer government units in (the) coming years,' he said. 'I have definite agenda, unlike other Dalit leaders,' he said, adding that he was working out a plan to improve the lot of the Dalits through education. After the 'success' of the November conversion in the capital, he says his job as an income-tax officer meant nothing to him and that he was ready to quit. 'I have been on leave for the last four years. I will leave my job any time. I cannot go back there and betray my people,' Ram Raj said. He has no plans of launching a political party but wouldn't like to speculate on the future. 'Only (the) future will tell my future,' he said.