Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw dances with tribal women in Odisha- Watch

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is in Odisha along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to partake in the Jan Ashirwad Yatra.

Pic Courtesy: ANI

New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw who is in Odisha for BJP's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra', took part in the tribal dance on Friday (August 20). The video which has gone viral shows Vaishnaw joining the tribal women and performing the folk dance. 

Vaishnaw, who also held a roadshow in Koraput, was seen shaking a leg along with other leaders. Taking to Twitter, the Union Electronics and Information Technology minister wrote, “Folk Dance! Happiness! Memories! Trying to match the dance steps with local folk dancers at Payakut Village in Odisha.”

Take a look at the bureaucrat-turned-politician’s performance:

#WATCH | Odisha: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw joins in the dance performance of tribal women in Koraput. The Minister also held a roadshow here. pic.twitter.com/zgfQfJJWcD — ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2021

Vaishnaw reached Bhubaneswar on Thursday to embark on the Jan Ashirwad Yatra along with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 

After visiting the Lord Jagannath Temple the same day, he told reporters that the Vande Bharat Express service will be extended till the pilgrim town of Puri. 

“Odisha is my ‘karma bhoomi' (place of work). I am spiritually attached to the social and cultural traditions of the state. I will take steps to expedite railway sector growth in Odisha,” PTI quoted the Union minister as saying. 

 Vasihnaw also inspected the Bhubaneswar Railway Station and spoke with passengers. 

Vaishnaw and Pradhan were also felicitated by party workers at the BJP's state headquarters in the state capital before the railway minister boarded a train to Rayagada district. Ditching the VIP protocol, he boarded Hirakhand Express to reach Rayagada.

During the four-day yatra, the two Union ministers will travel 419 km in four days and hold programmes at 115 places in seven districts, BJP sources told PTI. 

Vaishnaw was district magistrate and collector of Cuttack and Balasore in the 1990s. He was later appointed as the private secretary to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Railway minister, who hails from Rajasthan, was elected to Rajya Sabha in 2019 with the support of the ruling BJD in Odisha.

(With agency inputs)