Rahul visits Dalit villages to prove Maya wrong

ROUGHING IT UP: Mayawati said every time Rahul visits a dalit's house he takes bath with a special soap.

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New Delhi: A day after Mayawati hit out at the Congress for being anti-Dalit, Rahul Gandhi has made an unscheduled visit to Dalit villages in Jhansi.

Rahul's first visit to a Dalit village comes only a few weeks after his visit to Etawah where he had met a Dalit family.

As the battle between Congress and Uttar Pradesh ruling BSP hots up for Dalit vote bank, Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday night alleged that Rahul Gandhi's love for Dalits was a "mere hoax".

Accusing the Congress of being anti-dalit, she said every time Rahul visits a dalit's house he takes bath with a special soap and performed ablution (shuddhi).

Rahul in turn, lashed out at Mayawati during the Kanpur convention of the Congress, questioning her concern for Dalits, and saying that she has let them down.

Mayawati also charged that the Congress as also other parties which had ruled the state for 19 years were responsible for the backwardness of the state.

Mayawati's remarks came on a day when Rahul Gandhi left for her home district Bundelkhand for assessing the drought situation there.

She claimed that her government had worked for the betterment of the poor of all caste, made metalled roads in Ambedkar villages and appointments on reserved seats. The priorities of her government were education, health, water and electricity, she said.

With PTI inputs