New Delhi: After three BJP ministers raked controversy over having meal at Dalit homes, Uttar Pradesh Basic Education minister Anupama Jaiswal is the latest one on the list. The minister said on Friday that despite “mosquitoes biting them all night", ministers visit Dalit homes to ensure that they get benefits of government schemes.
“First time a government has been made for the youths, for the women and for the common man. We have initiated schemes to uplift every section of the society. And for this every minister is working really hard. We are spending nights at homes of Dalit people where we are stung by mosquitoes, yet we are doing it," Jaiswal said, adding that the visits, in fact, give them satisfaction.
Slamming the minister over her statement, Samajwadi party leader CP Rai said, “We have been seeing their (BJP) drama for long now. Rather than having food at a Dalit person’s place, they should ensure that they have nutritious food, they get quality education and livelihood. But BJP is only interested in drama."
Earlier in the day, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat criticised BJP over their attempt at Dalit outreach. Bhagwat told a gathering of RSS and VHP leaders in Delhi to desist from the “drama" and instead indulge in regular interactions with the members of the weaker sections to get rid of the caste system.
The statement comes a few days after UP cabinet minister Rajendra Pratap Singh had said that BJP leaders are blessing Dalits by going to their homes, while Union minister Uma Bharti claimed that she does not consider herself Lord Ram who can “purify Dalits".
Another UP minister Suresh Rana apparently brought his own food and water at a dinner hosted at a Dalit household in Aligarh. However, he rejected the allegations, saying, "The food was prepared in the village, by the villagers themselves."
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