By Sahil Makkar, IANS,
New Delhi : Though they were unaware why they had been brought to Delhi Chief Minister’s Sheila Dikisht residence as her party pulled off a third dramatic win in the assembly polls, around 40 mentally challenged children clapped and danced for three hours without being provided with water or food.
Traditionally clad drum beaters, hordes of slogan shouting party workers, VIPs thronged the venue as sweets were distributed and supporters burst firecrackers.
The children of Masoom Special School in Timarpur in north Delhi were taken to Dikisht’s bungalow in the school van around 10 a.m. Monday.
The students, some as young as eight years old, were made to sit on the lawns of the sprawling white bungalow by their teachers.
The children, who were not even aware why they had been brought to Dikisht’s house, danced and sang for nearly three hours.
Two mentally challenged children in their teens were seen playing musical instruments.
“I just love Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and Sheila Dikisht. We knew that Sheilaji would definitely win the elections so we decided to come here with children to meet her in the morning,” Nafees Khan, secretary general of the NGO Masoom Foundation that runs the school, told IANS at Dikisht’s house.
“Our children have been performing since we arrived here. Sheilaji is busy now but we would leave only after greeting her,” Khan said.
When asked if they had provided any refreshments to the children, Khan said they could not arrange it.
Dikisht, who is set to form the government in the national capital for the third consecutive time, was able to meet the children after three hours.
A ten-year-old started singing and clapping when he was asked the reason of his presence at Dikisht’s house. Another student said their teachers had brought them here.
And as trained by the teachers, the children greeted Dikisht before leaving in their school bus.
Meanwhile, party activists carrying Congress flags chanted slogans like “Nila na pila, Sheila hi Sheila”, “Ek Do Teen Char, Sheila Dikisht Tisri Bar” and “Sheila Dikisht Balle Balle, Baki Saab Thale Thale”.
The party workers danced to the beat of drums and distributed sweets and burst firecrackers outside the gate.
Outside the bungalow, a large number of cars were parked on both sides of the road and traffic policemen were seen struggling to maintain vehicular flow.