Indore: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leaving no stone unturned to reach out to Dalits. BJP president Amit Shah will take a holy dip with Dalit seers in the Shipra river on Wednesday during the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Ujjain.
The holy dip, named 'Samrasta Snan' (social harmony bath), organised at Simhastha Kumbh mela will be followed by a meal with Dalit seers and saints at Valmiki Ghat.
Shah, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP vice president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, BJP MP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and some other state ministers would be taking part in the bath.
The 'Snan' comes at a time when RSS is organising a series of functions to draw Dalits and tribals into its fold in the wake of the backlash caused by its chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement calling for review of the reservation policy before the Bihar Assembly polls in 2015.
The holy dip is also witnessing reservations from some quarters. The Dwarka-Sharda and Jyotish Peeth's Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati and Akhil Bharatiya Akahara Parishad president Narendra Giri have criticised the plan, saying seers have no caste and anyone is free to take holy dip during the Kumbh.
"There should be no politicking to divide the sadhus on caste lines at the Kumbh," Shankaracharya said.
However, BJP has maintained that there is no political motive behind the initiative. "There might be certain voices saying certain different things but everybody has welcomed our initiative. There is nothing like exclusively Dalit saints and seers. Saints and leaders from all communities have been invited and they are coming. We have planned to take a bath with socially deprived community. Others would also take bath," Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said.
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