Rahul Gandhi said ‘be patient, await reward’: Hans on Rajya Sabha denial

Hans, whose name was selected for Rajya Sabha nomination on March 9 and was changed at the eleventh hour by giving preference to another Dalit leader, Shamsher Singh Dullo, alleged “foul play” by Dullo and other senior Dalit leaders of the Congress such as Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Santosh Chaudhary.

Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans on Thursday met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and was reportedly told to “have patience to get suitable adjustment in the party”, which the singer had joined around one month ago.

Sufi singer and Congress leader Hans Raj Hans meeting the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Hans, whose name was selected for Rajya Sabha nomination on March 9 and was changed at the eleventh hour by giving preference to another Dalit leader, Shamsher Singh Dullo, alleged “foul play” by Dullo and other senior Dalit leaders of the Congress such as Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Santosh Chaudhary.

“Rahul told me that I should take the Rajya Sabha episode positively as the Congress is a very big party and sometimes such developments happen without deliberation,” Hans told HT. Dullo has since been elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.

“He told me to have patience and ensured that I would be suitably rewarded,” said Hans, who also claimed that in his half-an-hour meeting Rahul also discussed Sufism with him. Congress’ Punjab affairs in-charge Shakeel Ahmad reportedly arranged this meeting and was also present in the room where Rahul met Hans.

Hans also told Rahul that he had not been interested in joining any political party after he left the Shiromani Akali Dal. “But I joined the Congress when Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Capt Amarinder Singh called me and said the party needed support of people like me. I was already influenced by his personality, so I decided to join,” said Hans.