BJP should stop this drama of having dinner at Dalit homes : Savitri Bai Phule

| | Lucknow | in Lucknow

Discordant notes have started emanating within the BJP over the party’s much-hyped programme of `Samarasta Bhoj’ that calls for leaders to dine at Dalit homes. Dissenters maintained that it was nothing but denigrating Dalits and the action has started alienating the party from `Sarv Samaj’.

“The BJP should stop this drama of having dinner at Dalit homes. Is it really benefitting Dalits if upper caste people go and have food at their homes in an obscure village ? This is nothing but cheap publicity,” said BJP MP from Bahraich Savitri Bai Phule. 

“Is this act not increasing caste divide by identifying one as Dalit and the other as upper caste,” she asked.

She did not stop here and said: “Now reports are pouring in that our ministers are having dinner at a Dalit home but the food is not cooked by a Dalit and instead, brought from outside. The ministers and their cronies are also served mineral water. Tell me which Dalit drinks mineral water at his village home.”  

The well-crafted criticism of the sitting MP has hit the BJP where it hurts the most. Recently,  Cane Development minister Suresh Rana addressed a chaupal in Aligarh and dined at a Dalit’s house but the food was brought from a restaurant.

Rana, however defended his action and said that the food was cooked by villagers and no food was brought from outside. “Loha garh village in Aligarh is Dalit dominated and villagers cooked the food and I only ate that in a Dalit home,” he clarified.

Another minister Anupama Jaiswal too defended the ministers and leaders dinding at Dalit homes saying that they attended these meetings braving mosquito bites.  

Incidentally, Savitri Bai Phule is not the first to question BJP leaders having dinner at Dalit homes. Earlier Union minister, Uma Bharati, while addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh, had said that she was not in favour of leaders and minister having food at Dalit homes. 

“Instead we should invite Dalits to our homes,  cook for them and our family members should wash their utensils. This will be samarasta (equanimity) in the true sense,” Bharati said.