Rahul

Lucknow, April 7: Mayavati today launched a fresh attack on Rahul Gandhi, pooh-poohing his concern for Dalits as fake.

“I have come to know from my sources that when Rahul Gandhi returns to Delhi after visiting a Dalit home, he bathes using a special soap and then undergoes a purification exercise with incense,” she said, drawing guffaws at a rally this afternoon.

Mayavati’s outburst comes days after Rahul’s remark that only Indira Gandhi and BSP founder Kanshi Ram had been committed to Dalit welfare.

“Rahul Gandhi’s so-called visits to Dalit homes are fake. He is faking his sincerity for Dalits to get a foothold for his party in Uttar Pradesh,” Mayavati claimed.

“He is indulging in theatrics by saying he visits Dalit homes frequently and has dinner with them.”

The war of words between the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the Congress MP has been going on since Rahul went on a Dalit-wooing overdrive.

Mayavati poured scorn on him after he spent a night at a Dalit home in Amethi on January 26.

Rahul hit back at a Congress open session in Kanpur last month. He said a Dalit had told him only Indira Gandhi and Kanshi Ram used to care for his community. “No one does so now,” he had reportedly told Rahul.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said Mayavati’s statement would not have any impact on the party’s attempts to regain lost ground. Akhilesh Pratap Singh, the state Congress spokesperson, claimed the comments reflected the chief minister’s desperation.