Sonadevi joined Congress in the presence of Congress state president Sachin Pilot. (Source: Twitter)
A Dalit MLA from Zamindara party joined the Congress party on Friday while accusing the BJP, whom she had supported so far, of committing atrocities against the Dalits. In a ceremony at the state Congress office on Friday, Sonadevi, 31, joined Congress in the presence of Congress state president Sachin Pilot. Sonadevi is a National Unionist Zamindara Party (NUZP) MLA from the Scheduled Caste seat of Ganganagar district’s Raisinghnagar.
Talking to the journalists, Sonadevi said, “Recently, on April 2, you witnessed Bharat Bandh, in which I also participated. And it made me very sad to witness the manner in which the present government committed atrocities on the common Dalits.”
Being a BJP supporter so far, she accused the BJP of “use and throw,” saying, “Be it the President or Rajya Sabha polls, we supported them. But I feel that after taking our votes, they side-lined us and our party. They used us and threw us.”
She said that there were several issues of Ganganagar, concerning “farmers, labourers, education and health” but the BJP did not pay sufficient attention to these issues in the region.
“Today, the Congress party is going from strength to strength under the leadership of Sachin Pilot and I am joining Congress as a worker under his leadership. I believe, and it is the truth, that Congress has always worked towards the welfare of the poor, the Dalit, and women,” she said, adding that “Whatever tasks the Congress party hands to me, I will carry it out wholeheartedly and with utmost honesty.”
Sonadevi was one of the two NUZP MLAs elected to the State Assembly in 2013 elections. The other is Kamini Jindal, who is an MLA from Ganganagar Assembly seat.
Sachin Pilot said that Sonadevi has joined Congress “bina-shart” or without any terms or conditions from the party. He said that with her joining, the party will be strengthened in Bikaner division and it will also strengthen the voices of the “youth, women and Dalits.”
Speaking on Karnataka, Pilot also said that the Congress will not give an opportunity to the Centre or the Governor “for back door entry” into government formation “in Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, because we will form a government with two-thirds majority.”