Ministers stay at Dalit homes braving mosquito bites: BJP leader

A Uttar Pradesh BJP leader has stoked a fresh controversy by saying that ministers stay at Dalit homes despite being bitten by mosquitoes.

UP minister for basic education Anupama Jaiswal on Friday said, “Despite being stung by mosquitoes all night, we go to the Dalit households to make sure that they get the benefits of government-sponsored schemes.”

The minister’s remarks come close on the heels of the reports of her colleague Suresh Rana enjoying a lavish dinner at a Dalit home in UP’s Aligarh district recently.

While the host had no inkling that Rana would be visiting his house, the minister reportedly had the dinner prepared and served by a catering service provider, inviting flak from the Opposition parties.

Earlier, another UP minister Rajendra Pratap Singh had virtually compared himself with Lord Rama and the Dalit woman, who had served him food, to ‘Shabari’ (the tribal woman devotee of Rama, who had offered him berry fruits after tasting them to ascertain that they were sweet, and was blessed by Rama).

Launched with the objective of wooing Dalits ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s “Dalit outreach” campaign is causing major embarrassment to the saffron party mainly owing to the gaffes made by the ministers and leaders visiting the Dalit households.

Dalit BJP MP Savitri Bai Phule had also criticised the campaign and said that it was humiliating for the Dalits.

BJP ministers have been visiting Dalit homes and spending nights there besides having dinner with them.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had recently dined with Dalits at two different villages in the state.