A day after Narendra Modi led BJP government conferred late former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur with Bharat Ratna posthumously, the state’s CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took a jibe at Centre for not acknowledging his "relentless demands" behind the move.
Kumar made his remarks over Centre move at a rally organised by his party—JD(U) on the 100th birth anniversary of late Karpoori Thakur, PTI reported.
Kumar whose political mentor is said to be Karpoori Thakur, made it clear that the highest civilian honour was "fulfillment of only one of our many demands".
"It has been long since I have been organising functions in the honour of Karpoori Thakur and writing letters to the Centre, be it the previous Congress regime or the current one, requesting Bharat Ratna for the Jan Nayak. The move is proof of the realisation that you cannot go far without respecting his contributions", he said.
Kumar’s remarks are also seen as an oblique reference to the BJP's attempt to make a dent in the JD(U)'s support base of backward classes.
Before the rally, Kumar said he had visited Karpoori Thakur's ancestral village in Samastipur as he "has been doing for so many years on his birth anniversary", where met the late leader's family members, including son Ramnath Thakur, the JD(U)'s national general secretary and leader in the Rajya Sabha, who was present on the dais.
"I was told by my brother Ramnath Thakur that the PM called him up (after announcement of Bharat Ratna). However, he did not bother to call me. I would like to extend my thanks to him, nonetheless, through the media persons present here. I would like to say to him, you may say that you took the step just like that, without taking into account what we did,", said Kumar.
Kumar also made it clear that the Centre’s move will not make him return to BJP led NDA.
"You all know that we have raised many demands before the Centre. Only one of them has been fulfilled with Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur. I wish that the needful is done with regard to other demands as well,” he said.
He also pointed out that it was "Karpoori Thakur, who as Bihar chief minister "recognised the Extremely Backward Classes as a separate category for the first time anywhere in the country and introduced quotas for them".
He also said it Karpoori Thakur who as Bihar CM imposed prohibition on liquor in the state for the first time.
"It was Karpoori Thakur who first introduced prohibition in Bihar. But his government was toppled before completion of its term and sharaab-bandi was, subsequently, done away with," he said.
