Kumbh: Bhagwat breaks bread with sanitary workers

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday had lunch with sanitary workers, many of them Dalits, engaged to keep clean the site of the ongoing Simhastha Kumbh in Ujjain. Bhagwat had meal with the sanitary workers at Shri Guru Karshanaik ashram.

“The ashram management has invited 1,200 sanitary workers. Men were given shirts and trousers, while women were gifted Rs 100 and sarees,” ashram’s pontiff Swami Omkaranandji said. 

On Thursday, Bhagwat had taken a holy dip with members of tribal communities in the Kshipra river here. He had also addressed a ‘Janjati Sammelan’, a gathering of members of tribal communities from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other places, organised by the VKP in Ujjain. Bhagwat had then said that the Hindu culture has its genesis in the tribal society.

“The sense of belongingness and sharing are the tenets of Hindu religion. Time has come that the tribal representatives stood up for them and demand their rights,” he had said. “God helps those who help themselves,” Bhagwat said on Thursday.  Bhagwat’s move is being seen as a step aimed at striking a chord with the tribals. 

BJP president Amit Shah had participated in ‘samrasata snaan’ (bath for social harmony) and ‘samrasta bhoj’ (social harmony feast) with Dalit saints at the Kumbh Mela.