New Delhi: Congress Vice-President Rahul
Gandhi has done it again. He had surprised many on earlier occasions with his
unscheduled, sudden visit to poor villages, spending nights at their huts and
sharing their meals. And on last Thursday the young Congress leader paid a
surprise visit to a workshop of women sanitary staff.
Rahul Gandhi was not among the participants
at the day-long 'National Workshop on Awareness of Rights and Upliftment of
Women Safai Karamchari', yet he chose to attend it to directly get a feeling of
the participants. Some of the women attended, told Rahul Gandhi that he will
not get 'Dalit' votes unless he works for them to which the Congress Vice
President boldly said he did not care for votes but was interested in their
welfare.
The Congress leader also assured the
workers that the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre was committed to
abolishing the "inhuman" practice of manual scavenging. "It was
an impromptu interaction and some women did ask questions which had nothing to
do with the workshop. But they were very happy to talk to him and it was all
very pleasant," an official present there said.
The woman sanitary staff welcomed Rahul
Gandhi’s assurance for abolishing manual scavenging and taking up their other
concerns, which he said had brought him there to listen to them."We are
very sensitive to your problems and need and will do our utmost to help
you," Rahul Gandhi said. When quizzed about the presence of manual
scavenging in different parts of the country, he said such practice could not
be allowed in 21st century.
Officials said they had no knowledge of
Rahul Gandhi's visit to the workshop and learnt about it in the afternoon when
SPG officials arrived to put in place required security arrangements. The
one-day workshop was inaugurated by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister
Kumari Selja.
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