Lucknow, Sept. 15 -- Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister and Nishad Party president Sanjay Nishad's meeting with Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey has triggered political speculation in the state, months ahead of the Assembly elections.
Nishad visited Pandey's residence in Lucknow on Monday evening and presented him with a bouquet.
He later posted photographs of the meeting on social media, describing it as a "courtesy meeting" during which they discussed various issues.
But Nishad's remarks after the meeting added a political edge to the visit.
"Samajwadi Party shut its door on us, so we went with the BJP. If the BJP also shuts its door, we will consider other options. We will remain with whoever resolves the issues of the Nishad community," Nishad said.
Nishad, however, said the immediate reason for meeting Pandey was to enquire about his health. He said they also discussed the long-standing demand for reservation for the Nishad community under the Scheduled Caste category.
The two leaders also discussed the recent killing of Vinod Sahani in Gonda. Nishad said Pandey told him that
he had proved that he was fighting for the Nishad community.
Nishad said he told Pandey that the Gonda incident could have been avoided if the Nishad community had been included in the Scheduled Caste category, arguing that people would then have feared the provisions of the SC/ST Act.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.