Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 7 (IANS) The media had thrust a Dalit ‘frame’ on his visits to poor districts of the country, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi said here Wednesday while stressing that he did not believe in the caste system and only saw people as human beings.
‘I see myself going to a human being’s house. I don’t see it as a Dalit or an upper caste or lower caste house. As far as I am concerned, I am going to the poor man’s house whether a Dalit or minority,’ Gandhi said at a press conference here.
The young leader held that the media was to blame for the Dalit tag on his visits to poor villages in the country’s remote districts.
‘This differentiation occurs in the media, this doesn’t happen in my mind. I personally don’t believe in the caste system… The only difference I see between a poor person and rich person is that of opportunity.’
He added vehemently: ‘This frame of Dalit (visits) is your frame not mine.’
Gandhi lashed out at sceptics saying that a ‘young politician’ like him trying to get close to the people could not do so ’sitting in an air conditioned office’.
The ‘way it works’ in Uttar Pradesh, for instance, he said, is that he tells his office to find the poorest village in the state and take him to the poorest man’s house there. ‘The poorest are intelligent but don’t have opportunity.’
Gandhi is in Kerala to recruit members for the Congress youth wing and the National Students’ Union of India.
Referring to the recent spurt in Maoist attacks in states like Jharkhand and Orissa, he said: ‘There is a connection between Naxalism and the lack of ability of local governments to reach the people…the more people are involved in politics and the closer they are to the political system, the more involved they would be and less likelihood of Naxalism taking place.’
