In Sultanpur, Rahul finds a home with Dalits

In the Dalit locality of Pure Jawahar Singh—a village in UP's Sultanpur district—Sunday began with a difference.

In the Dalit locality of Pure Jawahar Singh—a village in UP’s Sultanpur district—Sunday began with a difference. Rahul Gandhi, All India Congress Committee general secretary, had spent the night in the hut of Ram Sahay Kori.

“Ehe Kambal ke odh Banskhat par so gailan (Wrapping himself in this blanket, he went to sleep on this bamboo cot),” said Kori, a Dalit resident of the village. “For me, it was a golden moment,” he added, showing everyone the ‘treasured’ blanket.

The young MP had spent most of the night in the open, discussing problems faced by members of Self-Help Groups and Kori had offered him his hospitality.

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Since Saturday, Gandhi has been on a three-day visit to his constituency Amethi.

On Saturday night, he had few securitymen with him. His decision to stay at the Kori home was in sharp contrast to Chief Minister Mayawati’s recent request for SPG protection. And it did impress the locals at a time when Mayawati is busy in expanding her party base in other states.

Narrating the tale of the surprise guest, Kori’s daughter-in-law Sunita said late last night, a meeting of 20 representatives of 10 Self-Help Groups was in progress at her house. “Rahul Gandhi arrived at 10 p.m., taking us completely by surprise. He discussed the problems we were facing,” she said.

The women representatives at the meeting come from all sections of society. “He wanted to know our plans. We shared our experiences with him, about our new status as members of a Self-Help Group,” said Shashi Bala, who had attended the meeting. “Hum akele thane mein jate the to policewalla bahut bada lagta tha (Whenever I went to the police station by myself, the officers seemed big people),” she had told Gandhi.

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“What is bada,” he had asked. “Nothing is bigger than unity. If you are united, you can be self-reliant,” Sunita quoted Rahul as telling them.

As it was already 2 a.m., the women requested him to have dinner with them. The menu was dal, puffed rice, mixed vegetables and puri.

Kesh Kumari, one of the group members, said: “It was a fortnightly meeting. So we had prepared a special dinner. Rahul even visited the kitchen. He was offered food on banyan leaves. After dinner, at around 3 a.m., the Kori family had offered him a bed and he had accepted.”