Kalavati, now a ‘taxpayer’, meets Rahul after 14 years

Nagpur: Kalavati Bandurkar, a farm widow from Yavatmal’s Jalka village who had become the face of Vidarbha’s agrarian crisis, on Tuesday met Rahul Gandhi once again after 14 years.

In 2008, the Congress leader had gone to Kalavati’s village as he toured the country and mentioned her condition in his speech during the trust vote against UPA government. Her husband Parshuram Bandurkar, a farmer, had committed suicide allegedly due to agrarian crisis. Kalavati had been wanting to meet Gandhi again since then.

She was taken to Gandhi’s rally in Washim by Congress MP Suresh Dhanorkar on Tuesday. “I just went up to him on the stage, handed over a bouquet and thanked him. He inquired about others in the family and I said everyone is good,” Kalavati told TOI.

Times changed for Kalavati after Gandhi’s visit to her home. Soon, NGO Sulabh International gave her cash aid of Rs25 lakh. The amount was parked as fixed deposit giving monthly interest pay out.

Though better off financially, she also suffered personal tragedy as one of her sons died in an accident. Her another son, who was in an engineering college, quit studies after that. “He is now pursuing another degree and also preparing for police recruitment,” she said.

The aid from Sulabh International now makes her a taxpayer due to the interest income. “The falling interest rates have also reduced the monthly payout,” she said. The interests rates are at 4.4% these days, this brings around Rs15,000 a month after deducting taxes.

She cultivates rented land. “My yearly income after deducing all expenses and counting the interest payout comes to around Rs50,000. The payout helps in taking care of children’s education and medical expenses,” she said.

Along with Kalavati, Gandhi had also visited Sashikala, whose family also earned a living through farming. From Sonkhas village, also in Yavatmal, she did not get as much prominence after that.