Damage control? Union minister Uma Bharti says feeding Dalits 'self-purification'

Chhatarpur (Madhya Pradesh): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday compared feeding Dalits to a self-purification activity.

"I am not Lord Ram who will be able to purify the Dalits by dining with them. When Dalits come to our house and eat together it is then that we will become pure," Bharti said while addressing a rally at Madhya Pradesh's Chhatarpur district.

"My house gets blessed when I serve Dalit with my hands in my house," she added.

Meanwhile, in a stark contrast to Uma Bharti's statement, Yogi Adityanath's cabinet minister Rajendra Pratap on the same day reportedly compared BJP leaders to Lord Ram.

He said the way Lord Ram blessed Shabari (a Dalit) by eating his berries, BJP leaders were also blessing Dalits by going to their homes.

The statement came after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had dinner and spent a night at a Dalit village in Pratapgarh district on April 24.