Residents circulated videos showing soap and shampoo given before Yogi Adityanath's visit.
Highlights
- In videos, Dalits seen showing soap and shampoo they allegedly received
- Some said they were asked to use perfume before meeting Yogi Adityanath
- He was in UP's Kushinagar on Friday to inaugurate immunisation programme
People belonging to a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh have alleged that they were given soap and shampoo by the local administration ahead of a visit by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last week. Members of the Mushahar community -- one of the poorest in the state -- said they were asked to take bath and clean up properly before attending a function in Kushinagar. The district administration has refused to comment on the matter.
In videos that are being widely shared on internet, members of the community can be seen displaying the soap and shampoo they allegedly received. The package also contained washing powder, they said. Some even said they were asked to use perfume before meeting the Chief Minister, who was in Kushinagar on Friday to inaugurate an immunisation programme for encephalitis.
The videos triggered a barrage of criticism.
The Congress demanded that the Chief Miniser must apologise. party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said, "The concerned state administration officers should be booked under the SC-ST Act".
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav tweeted, "Such is the state-of-affairs when a yogi is a CM. The next time you visit the poor, try to understand their hardship".
Earlier this month, the family of Prem Sagar - a Border Security Force man who was murdered and mutilated in Jammu and Kashmir - said the special arrangements made for the Chief Minister's visit left them "humiliated".
Before the Chief Minister's visit, the local administration had brought in an air-conditioner, a carpet and sofa and even towels. They took it away as soon as the Chief Minister left, the family said.
"Before the visit, local officials installed an air conditioner, a sofa set and even a carpet in the room where the meeting with the Chief Minister was to take place," said his son Eashwar. "Right after he left, some officials came and dismantled everything and left".
Daya Shankar, the brother of the martyred soldier, who also works with the BSF, said it was an "insult" and that the local administration could have waited a day or two.