Gifts, attention from Priyanka make these Nishad girls celebrities, and how!
PRAYAGRAJ: Vaishnavi, Mala and Puja, three cousins, residing in Baswar, a small village on the banks of the Yamuna, housing members of the Nishad community, have attained bragging rights.
Wherever they go, they are the centre of attraction. Even strangers are approaching and greeting these girls in the village, situated around 25km from Sangam city in the transYamuna region of Prayagraj district.
Aged 14, 16 and 26 respectively, they shot into limelight soon after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra roamed around the village with her arms around their shoulders during her visit to the village on February 21.
She had come to meet boatmen and their families who had allegedly been assaulted and their boats damaged by the police during a raid to put a check on illegal sand mining in the area on February 4.
During the visit, Priyanka chatted with these three and even roamed the village with her arms around their shoulders.
Even after leaving the village and busy with her party responsibilities, Priyanka did not forget them. “On Monday, she sent some of her party workers who took us to a mall in posh Civil Lines and bought us clothes of our choice as gifts from Priyanka Didi,” said Vaishnavi, the youngest and a Class 8 student of CBSE-affiliated Blooming Buds School.
So what did she choose? “I went for a pair of jeans, a matching top, as well as a kurti I liked. Now everyone wants to see it,” she said excitedly.
Her elder cousin, Mala, a BA-1 student of Allahabad University, went for a kurti, a top and a pair of trousers, while Puja, the eldest, busy preparing for NET, chose two tops and a pair of trousers.
“Priyanka Didi has promised to support us in whatever academic pursuits we wish to undertake. She said so when Mala and Vaishani shared their dream of becoming IAS officers. We are overwhelmed by her love and care,” said Puja with a smile.
These three are not the only ones to get gifts from Priyanka Gandhi. Arushi, 6, Priyal, 4, and Shriya, 2, also belonging to the Nishad community, also got pretty frocks home delivered to them on February 22.
The three are daughters of Sujeet Nishad, the boatman who had taken Priyanka to Sangam on his boat for the Mauni Amavasya dip on February 11, and who actually had informed her of the alleged police assault on fellow villagers and damaging of their boats on February 4 that finally saw her visiting Baswar village to meet locals on February 21 and declare financial support of Rs 10 lakh for the affected boatmen, on Tuesday.
“I am humbled by the gesture. They are the best frocks my daughters have. She has also promised to help in their education. I am greatly touched by her gift and blessings,” he said.