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Kalavati Bandurkar reacts after Amit Shah's dig at Rahul Gandhi, Congress posts video: ‘Modi govt is lying’
In an apparent jibe at Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah on Wednesday said the Wayanad MP has been “launched” 13 times but has failed every single time.
A day after Amit Shah’s jibe apparent dig at Rahul Gandhi, the Congress hit out at the Union home minister with a video clip of Kalavati Bandurkar wherein she acknowledged the Gandhi scion's help. In a video clip shared by the Congress, Kalavati is also seen saying "Modi government is lying".
“Because of Rahul Gandhi's help, we got the education, food and married-off children. Why is the Modi government claiming that… this is a lie. Rahul Gandhi was the one who helped us from the beginning. That's why I will keep praising him. Whatever the Modi government saying are all lies…” Kalavati is seen saying the clip.
“'Modi government is lying'. Yesterday in Parliament, home minister Amit Shah had made false claims related to Kalavati ji of Yavatmal. Kalavati ji herself is telling the reality of those false claims. Listen, how her life changed after meeting Jannayak Rahul Gandhi ji,” the Congress tweeted.
In a veiled attack on Gandhi, Shah on Wednesday said the Wayanad MP has been “launched” 13 times but has failed every single time.
“There is one member in this House who has been launched 13 times in politics. This member failed all 13 times. I have seen one launching when he went to meet a poor lady named Kalavati. But what did you do for her? House, ration, electricity was provided to her by Modi government,” Shah claimed.
Shah was speaking in the Lok Sabha during a debate on the no-confidence motion.
Kalavati, in an interview with BBC, (a video clip of which was posted by the Congress earlier) narrated her ordeal and recalled her meeting with Rahul Gandhi.
“Of course, we remember Kalavati ji. The whole of India is aware of the change that took place in Kalavati ji's life after meeting Jannayak Rahul ji. You also see... Show it to Modi ji as well. Kalawati ji's story, in her own words,” the Congress wrote addressing to Amit Shah.
“Rahul Gandhi had met me and lifted me out of poverty. First, he gave me monetary assistance of ₹3 lakh and later transferred ₹30 lakh,” said Kalavati. She also claimed that her financial condition was crippled after her husband's death in 2005.
Who is Kalavati Bandurkar?
Kalavati, a poor farm widow from Maharashtra's Jalka, made headlines on Wednesday again after Shah's jibe at Gandhi.
Gandhi had visited Kalavati's home in 2008 after her husband died by suicide due to an agrarian crisis in Maharashtra.
After Rahul Gandhi visited her, she received significant financial support. Gandhi also mentioned her during a no-trust debate in the Parliament in 2008. While Gandhi did not help her financially directly but financial support poured in for her from many quarters, including ₹ 30 lakh from NGO Sulabha International, after the Congress leader's visit.
Kalavati had decided to contest from the Wani seat during Maharashtra assembly polls in 2009, however, soon after, she withdrew her candidature. Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, the NGO supporting her candidature had then said, “Her (Kalavati's) son-in-law threatened that he would commit suicide if she contested the Maharashtra assembly poll.”
Kalavati's husband Parshuram had died by suicide on December 23, 2005, because of an agrarian crisis and then her son-in-law, Sanjay Kalaskar, 25, a marginal farmer, who was also an auto driver, died by suicide in December 2010. In 2011, Kalavati's second daughter, Savita Khamankar, 27, who lived in Radegaon near Warora in Chandrapur district, died by suicide by setting herself afire.
During Bharat Jodo Yatra last year, Kalavati met Gandhi in November after a few Congress workers took her to his rally in Washim. Union minister Nitin Gadkari had offered her a financial help of ₹1 lakh.
