Dalit leaders from Congress make impromptu visit to Mayawati's house, get party notice

The Congress has issued a show-cause notice to its several Dalit leaders who visited BSP chief Mayawati's Lucknow residence uninvited on Tuesday evening and were turned away at the gate, seeking an explanation behind their ''unauthorised'' act.

Amid the controversy, Congress Scheduled Caste Department national chairman Rajendra Pal Gautam and the department's Uttar Pradesh president and MP Tanuj Punia, who were among the leaders who landed at the BSP chief's residence but could not meet her, maintained on Wednesday that it was an ''impromptu courtesy visit'' with no political overtones.

Congress's Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande told PTI that the party had taken note of the visit. ''This was not an authorised delegation from the party. The party has taken cognisance of the matter and issued show-cause notices to the leaders who went there,'' Pande said.

He added that while the Congress holds Mayawati in ''high esteem'', the leaders who visited her residence had done so in their individual capacity and not on behalf of the party.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said that the party gave no permission for the visit. ''Such visits are pre-decided and cleared by top leadership well in advance,'' he said.

What perhaps embarrassed the Congress leadership even more was that the visit happened hours after Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hinted that his party's alliance with Congress would continue for the 2027 UP polls.

Punia denied reports claiming that the Dalit leaders had approached Mayawati to convey a message from Rahul Gandhi.

''That's not correct. I am currently in Raebareli only at Rahul ji's programme,'' Punia told PTI on phone.

''A meeting of the party's SC wing under Rajendra Pal Ji was held in Lucknow on Tuesday evening. Since our party office is close to the BSP chief's residence, after the meeting, as we drove past Mayawati Ji's residence, we thought of making an impromptu courtesy call on her, more so as she also hails from the same community as ours and is a senior leader,'' Punia said, admitting the delegation was unable to get an audience with the BSP chief.

BSP Uttar Pradesh president Vishwanath Pal said he had no knowledge about the visit. ''I don't know who went to see Behen Ji. I am not aware of any such visit,'' he told PTI.

Unmindful of the controversy, Gautam maintained that the visit was ''well intentioned''. He said the visit had no political overtones and was undertaken to check on the BSP leader's health.

''It could be a juicy gossip for the media, but as for me, I have known Mayawati's relatives for long. Her brother is well known to me and we frequently meet. That is why, after our Lucknow meeting, as we passed through her residence, we decided to check if she was available for the meeting,'' Gautam told PTI.

To a specific query if this visit was inspired by a desire to probe possibilities of a pre-poll pact with BSP in UP, Gautam said, ''Such decisions aren't reached over an impromptu stopover but decided by top leadership after due consideration.''.

Asked if it would have been proper had they sought a formal appointment before visiting Mayawati, Gautam said, ''Since I have known her family, this wasn't felt necessary.''.

As news channels carried photos of them standing outside the BSP chief's residence after failing to meet her, the BJP took potshots at Congress.

''Uttar Pradesh had closed doors on the Congress 35 years back. Now they want to use other parties to claw their way back, but I feel all parties have shut the door firmly on them in UP,'' said UP BJP lawmaker Yogesh Shukla.

Earlier on Tuesday, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had asserted that the alliance with his party's partners would continue in future elections and said the focus would remain on ''victory, not seats''.

Speaking at an event organised by Amar Ujala, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party had vast experience in managing alliances and had always ensured gains for its allies.

''There will not be a question of seats in the alliance. Even during the Lok Sabha elections, I had said that the issue was not about seats; the issue was about victory. The same formula will work again,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)