Giving out a strong message of social harmony and togetherness, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had lunch at a Dalit’s house in Ayodhya on Friday.
The Begumpura slum in Devkali ward of Ayodhya was abuzz with activities since morning. The Dalit family of Maniram had spring in their feet because Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was about to visit them for lunch.
Basanti, wife of Maniram, said that she cooked dal, rice, lauki (bottle gourd), roti, raita and salad for the chief minister. “The chief minister had food with us,” she told reporters.
Maniram said that he had never thought in his dreams that the chief minister would come to his house to have food with them.
Maniram’s house had a tin shed earlier but he got a pucca house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Along with the chief minister, local MP Lallu Singh and other people were also present at Maniram’s house.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s gesture not only put the previous state governments in the dock for creating a divide and indulging in social exploitation during their rules but also displayed that his government was espousing the cause of social bonhomie across all sections of society without any discrimination.
Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had “khichdi” meal at the residence of a Dalit worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party on the occasion of Makar Sankranti in Gorakhpur.
Besides, under the Yogi government’s new initiative — Sarkar Aapke Dwaar — ministers of the state are also working to strengthen social harmony by visiting their respective districts.
To realise this objective, recently in Banda, Minister Jaiveer Singh had a meal at Harikishan Jatav's house in a slum area. Similarly, during his two-day visit to Bareilly, cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ had dinner with a Dalit family.
The chief minister also offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi temple and the Ram Janmabhoomi temple before having a meal at Maniram’s house.