The Hindu : Front Page : Indira Gandhi, Kanshi Ram were real messiahs: Rahul

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Tuesday, Apr 01, 2008
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Indira Gandhi, Kanshi Ram were real messiahs: Rahul

Atiq Khan

KANPUR: In an attempt to counter Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s claim of being the benefactor of Dalits, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and BSP founder Kanshi Ram were their messiahs.

Addressing the closing session of the two-day convention of the Pradesh Congress Committee here, Mr. Gandhi recalled the statement made by a Dalit, in whose household he stayed during a recent visit: “Indiraji and Kanshi Ram used to work for us, but after them we [the Dalits] felt cheated, now nobody thinks about us.”

Mr. Gandhi pointed out that to his dismay he found that there was no electricity in the village.

Narrating another instance, Mr. Gandhi said some youths from Uttar Pradesh, whom he came across in Karnataka, told him that the southern State provided immense livelihood opportunities.

Mr. Gandhi said the trends of the Dalits living in a depressed state and youth migrating to other States in search of jobs should be reversed, and it was for the Congress to do so.

The welfare schemes launched by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi would act as a catalyst for change.

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