Lessons from Rahul: Amit Shah lunches at Dalit's home in UP

In a bid to woo Dalits ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, BJP chief Amit Shah had lunch at a Dalit’s house at a village on Tuesday.

Shah, who is on a two-day visit to the state, went straight to the house of Girija Prasad Bind at Jogiapur village in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, and had lunch there with the local leaders of the party.The BJP chief, however, was seen drinking bottled mineral water, which was carried by one of the party workers. 

Shah’s visit to the Dalit’s home triggered immediate reactions from the rival parties, which termed it a “drama aimed at garnering votes of the Dalit community”.

BSP supremo Mayawati said the BJP had an “anti-Dalit mindset”' and it only wanted to secure votes of the community. She also referred to the destruction of the statue of the BSP founder Kanshiram in Gurgaon under BJP-ruled Haryana and urged the state government to bring the culprits to book immediately.

“Instead of dramatics, the BJP should exert pressure on its government to take action against those responsible for damaging the statue,” Mayawati said in a statement on Tuesday.

UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, who had food with the labourers on ‘May Day’, said he had not asked about the caste of the man who was beside him while he was having food. “It will have no effect on the polls....the people will vote on the basis of development, not for having food with members of a caste or community,” Akhilesh said.