Uttar Pradesh Minister Rajendra Pratap Eats at Dalit’s House, Says ‘It’s Like Ram Visiting Shabari’

The dinner happened Tuesday night while Singh was visiting Jhansi.

Edited By: Smriti Sinha

Published: May 2, 2018, 1:24 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/news/india/uttar-pradesh-minister-rajendra-pratap-eats-at-dalits-house-says-its-like-ram-visiting-shabari-3031112/ Copy

Singh has his dinner at a Dalit's house on Tuesday (ANI)

Lucknow, May 2: Another UP Minister may want to eat his words soon after having a meal at a Dalit’s. Rural Engineering Minister Rajendra Pratap Singh aka Moti Singh shot his mouth off on Wednesday as he talked about his impromptu dinner at a Dalit’s house on his Jhansi visit the previous evening. While hoping to sound humble, Singh came across as another upper caste person trying too hard, and failing miserably, to mingle with Dalits. ANI reported Singh as having said, “Ram aur Shabari ka samvaad Ramayana mein hai. Aaj jab Gyan ji ki ma ne mujhe roti parosi, to unhone kaha, ‘mera uddhar ho gaya.’ Kisi raja ke yahaan bhojan kiya hota to shayad kisi ne ye na kaha hota (The Ram and Shabari dialogue finds reference in Ramayana. When she was serving me, Gyan ji’s mother (the family Singh had visited) said, ‘I feel liberated’. Had it not been their house, I don’t think I would have got such a reaction.”

Ram aur Shabri ka samvaad ‘Ramayana’ mein hai. Aaj jab Gyan Ji ki Maa ne mujhe roti parosi to unhone kaha ‘mera uddhar ho gaya’. Kisi Raja ke yahan bhojan kiya hota toh shayad unki Maa ne ye na kaha hota: UP Minister Rajendra Pratap after eating at a Dalit’s house in Jhansi y’day pic.twitter.com/UrYHqsBIi7

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 2, 2018

Singh was in Gadhmau village in Badagaon block of Jhansi district where he addressed the chaupal as well. Media reports say Singh also went on to mention this as an achievement of his party. He said like Lord Rama visited Shabari, the same way BJP leaders were visiting Dalit homes, said a News 18 report. “You can see the love and happiness of these (Dalit) people. You can see it on the family’s face, is it as if they have got something they would never have been able to afford,” he said.

Earlier, another party minister, Suresh Rana also courted controversy after eating halwai-cooked meal at a Dalit’s house in Aligarh during a ‘surprise visit’. The Congress said the BJP was only interested in the votes of Dalits, not their welfare.