At a time when the BJP's dalit outreach programme in Uttar Pradesh have run into a full-blown controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological mentor of the party, has issued a stern warning to its leaders and urged them not to do 'drama'.
"Regular interactions are needed to get rid of caste barriers, not the occasional symbolic gestures," said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a meeting of RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Delhi on Wednesday.
Reports quoted Bhagwat as saying: “Eating at dalits’ homes, inviting the media or for publicity stunts, is not a good practice... Leaders should interact with dalit people routinely and regularly. Only taking food at dalits’ houses is not sufficient, send family members too to their homes and invite them at your home.”
BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, have been visiting dalits' houses in the state and dining with them as part of party's strategy to make inroads into the community ahead of the parliament election next year. Party president Amit Shah, too, had recently visited a few dalit houses.
However, Suresh Rana, a minister in the Yogi cabinet, found himself in the middle of a controversy after it emerged that the food he ate at a dalit house in Lohagarh village in Aligharh district was brought from outside.