Rajasthan Minister Mamta Bhupesh on Sunday said she will first work for her caste and only then the rest of society, PTI reported. The women and child development minister is the only woman in the Cabinet of newly-elected Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
“I want to assure you that I will be there in times of need,” Bhupesh said at a public event in Alwar on Sunday. “I will not turn my back on you because my first priority is to work for my caste and then society.”
Bhupesh is a legislator from the Berwa community, which is reserved for candidates from the scheduled castes, according to News18. She has an MBA and has been a member of the Congress for the past 26 years.
The Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the minister’s remark, claiming it showed the narrow-mindedness of the Congress, PTI reported. Rajasthan BJP chief Madan Lal Saini said work is not done in the government on the basis of caste.
The Congress recently regained power in Rajasthan after winning 99 of 200 seats in the state Assembly. It formed government with the help of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party.
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