LUCKNOW: Amid row over Dalit atrocities, BJP national president
Amit Shah kicked off his Lucknow visit by paying homage to dalit social reformer Jyotiba Phule on his 191st birth anniversary on Wednesday.
Soon after arriving in Lucknow, Shah went straight to Samtamoolak crossing constructed during the previous
Mayawati regime on Wednesday.
Accompanied by UP chief minister Adityanath Yogi and UP BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey, Shah offered flowers at the 15 feet tall statue of Phule. This was the first time that any BJP leader had visited the memorial constructed during the previous Mayawati regime.
Shah's visit to the dalit memorial also came almost a week after he said that the BJP government would never do away with reservation facilities for dalits.
Political experts were quick to read Shah's visit to the memorial along with Yogi as an attempt to dispel growing perception about BJP being an anti-dalit political outfit. This also comes even as the ruling party draws sharp criticism from its own MPs over the issue of atrocities inflicted on dalits post their April 2 agitation following a
Supreme Court order on SC/ST act.
UP BJP spokesperson,
Rakesh Tripathi said that the party leadership believes in equal respect to all communities, including dalits and other backward castes.
PTI photo
