Cong leaders do a Rahul on Gandhi Jayanti

Some leaders,however,realised that pulling off the gesture was not easy as it seemed. While there were reports of Azharuddin leaving mid-way in Moradabad,a cook was called in for the feast organised by Union Minister of Coal Sri Prakash Jaiswal in Kanpur,a mosquito net was put in place for Congress Lesgislature Party (CLP) leader Pramod Tiwari in Pratapgarh,while other leaders brought pillows and brand new plates to eat with Dalits. The leaders,however,had their clarifications ready.

As for calling a cook for the community feast,Mahesh Dixit,Congress district president for Kanpur,said: “It was supposed to be a sehbhoj in which we had invited Dalits. The cook was called in just to make the preparations.”

Along Jaiswal,Dixit spent the night at Dwarikapuri,a Dalit basti in Kanpur.

On Azharuddin’s stay being cut short,Congress leader from Moradabad Sanjay Sharma said,“Azharuddinji was there till 3 am. He left as he had some important engagement the following day.”

CLP leader Pramod Tiwari added,“Villagers were kind enough to put one for me,but I asked them to remove it and then slept without it for the entire night in the house of a Dalit pradhan,Devkali Pasi,in Sangramgarh village of Pratapgarh.”

Tiwari organised a chaupal in Jahanabad Dalit basti in Pratapgarh. “Three major problems were reported to me — poor electricity supply,no employment under the NREGS,and no proper school in the area. I have sanctioned a school for the area from my own quota.” said Tiwari.

UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said: “The spirit was right. It is a good beginning. As we continue with the trend,our leaders will understand better on how to go about with things. Though the programme was decided at the eleventh hour,thousands of Congress workers were ready to be a part of it.”

Asked about the “small luxuries”,Joshi said,“In the future,we will try to bring it down to simpler forms. I have asked all my district presidents to spend at least one night every month in the backward areas.”

Joshi herself chose Nayigarhi,a Dalit hamlet in Hardiya village that borders Mirzapur and Allahabad. During the day,she organised a chaupal and then ate lunch with villagers. She also spent the night in the Dalit hamlet.

Describing her three-km-long walk to the hamlet,Joshi said: “There were no proper roads and no electricity. The children here have never been vaccinated and the nearest drinking water source is located 1.5 km away. People are yet to receive employment under the NREGS. We could not find a proper place to stand because the entire hamlet had become muddy following rains. And it is an Ambedkar Village,which is supposed to be an ideal one.”

Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada spent the day in Dularia village in his constituency,Lakhimpur Kheri. For spending the night,he chose a Dalit-dominated village in Gardsal area of Shahjahanpur district. Prasada said,“The idea is to highlight the plight of Dalits and create a positive sentiment among people to not treat them as secondary. The village I visited did not have proper roads or electricity and the schools did not have teachers.”

While MPs Jagdambika Pal and P L Punia spent their days in Kamalsagar village of Mau district and Katurikala Dalit village of Barabanki respectively,Union Minister of State for Rural Development,Pradeep Jain,Annu Tandon,Nirmal Khatri and Ratna Singh followed suit in their respective constituencies.