Has Rahul Gandhi ever used a khaat, asks Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti

NEW DELHI: "People who sleep on Dunlop mattresses will never know what a khaat means to a poor man," Fatehpur MP and minister of state for food processing industries Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said on Sunday, taking a jibe at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s ongoing kisan yatra in UP.

The minister who has already begun her campaigning with visits to Banda and Sultanpur last week said Rahul was making fun of the poor by holding khaat sabhas.

"First of all, he has directly copied from Modiji’s chai pe charcha. Modiji used to sell tea so chai pe charcha was natural to him but has Rahul ever used a Khaat? I feel he is doing khaat sabhas only to fill up the space as people won’t come to listen to him and the ground will look empty. A khaat has become a luxury now for the poor in UP who have no basic facilities and by holding charchas on it Rahul is making fun of their poverty. Had he worked like this when his government was in power, the same farmers would at least have had khaats in their house which they are forced to take home from his rally now."

Jyoti said she is specifically focussing on canvassing votes for her party among the Nishad community that she hails from. This community, mostly consists of boatmen and professions aligned to rivers, is significant in UP.

Currently, Nishads in UP are in the OBC list but in Delhi, they are on the SC list. PM Narendra Modi had himself reached out to the them in May this year while launching solar-powered boats for plying on the Ganges.

She said she has already met PM with respect to the need for benefits for the community . "The PM was very supportive. Dalits have at least got reservation and their lives have improved a little. But for the Nishads who have lost traditional livelihoods, migration to cities is the only option.."

On the ruling Samajwadi Party making efforts yet again to include 17 most backward castes, including the Nishads, in the quota meant for the SCs, Jyoti said: "Mulayam is again making false promises.

Why has he drawn them into 17 categories when the jaati is the same. The Centre has already written to him to club the 17 groups and send a fresh proposal which can be looked at but he has not done it because he knows his politics will be over once the communities get extra benefits."

Jyoti said she was sure that the next government in UP will be of BJP’s. "UP in the last 15 years has seen only " patthar ke park and saifai ka vikaas."