Bengaluru: He may have whipped up a controversy by having breakfast with Dalits in their homes during his recent tour of the state and been accused of pandering to them with an eye on the coming state Assembly polls, but BJP state chief, B.S.Yeddyurappa, has decided to go a step further and invite Dalit families to his home for lunch.
Undeterred by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah calling his breakfast meetings with Dalits a political gimmick, the BJP chief asserts they were a huge success.
"People welcomed me into their homes during my visit to Dalit colonies, and explained to me their difficulties," he told the Deccan Chronicle. To reciprocate the hospitality of the Dalit families, who fed him in their homes, he now plans to host a lunch for them at his Dollars Colony residence in Bengaluru soon, he reveals.
"Both Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Chief Minister, H.D.Kumaraswamy were upset by the success of my breakfast meetings with the Dalit families. But I will not react to their comments," he declared.
During his Jana Samparka Yatra in the state the BJP state chief had breakfast with as many as 66 Dalit, ST and OBC families.
Travelling over 10,500 km, he covered over 85 Assembly constituencies, held 27 Dalit samvadas, 32 public rallies and 34 party workers meetings. He had also triggered a controversy after reports that the food he ate at Dalit homes was actualy brought from hotels.
