Pinki to campaign for NDF

LUCKNOW: Pinki Sonkar, who rose to stardom through her Oscar winning documentary 'Smile Pinki, will lend star power to National Dalit Front in the upcoming Lok sabha elections.

"We are going to unmask the anti-dalit face of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati through Pinki," NDF general secretary Udit Raj said on phone from New Delhi.

"Since Pinki is a dalit and is well aware of the problems faced by the community, we have decided to take her in our public meetings, where she will narrate her experiences of discrimination, which are prevalent in our society," Raj said.

The NDF general secretary also alleged that unlike the Maharashtra government, which provided flats to child-actors, who featured in the Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', Mayawati has failed to do anything substantial for Pinki.

"A flat in Mumbai is worth crores and that's what the Maharashtra government has done for the child artists of Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire. Mayawati is yet to do anything substantial," said Raj.

National Dalit Front is a front headed by Lok Janshakti Party of Ram Vilas Paswan and comprises Indian Justice Party of Udit Raj, Republican Party of India (A) of Ramdas Athavale and other parties working for the welfare of dalits in the country.

Raj said Pinki will also be felicitated in the public meetings of the National Dalit Front. "In New Delhi she will participate at a public function on March 15 and would share the platform with Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who is the president of NDF."

The IJP chief said he met Pinki and her parents at their home in Rampur Dabai village in Mirzapur district and added, "Her parents had agreed to let her take part in the public meetings."

He also stated that he had given Pinki a "cash award of Rs 5,000".

Lashing out at the BSP, Raj said, "BSP is a party, which only pretends to fight for Dalit rights, but the reality is just the opposite. With the help of Pinki, we are now going to unmask the Bahujan Samaj Party government."