Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday launched an attack on the government and said that former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur also favoured reservation, irrespective of caste or religion.
“Karpoori Thakur gave reservations to all backward communities irrespective of their caste and religion. To those who want to do away with the Indian constitution, why didn’t they incorporate this in the ninth schedule of the Indian constitution after the Bihar cabinet requested for a similar inclusion,” Tejashwi Yadav said.
His remarks came a day after his father and RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav backed “poora” (complete) reservation for Muslims and stoked a controversy. “Reservation toh milna chahiye Musalmano ko, poora… They (BJP) want to finish off the Constitution and democracy of the country,” the RJD supremo said on Tuesday, May 7.
However, he later changed his stance to extending reservation benefits across all social lines and not only based on one’s choice of faith. He further claimed that his erstwhile government in Bihar implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations.
“We implemented the Mandal Commission recommendations. Has Narendra Modi ever read them? The Mandal Commission recommendations provide reservations for more than 3,500 backward castes, including many from other religions,” he said in a video message.
Upping the ante against PM Modi Tejashwi Yadav also alleged that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is trying to “change” the Constitution of the country and “snatch reservation quota” from SC, ST and OBC categories.
“He should talk about Karma instead of Dharma and start talking about the achievements in terms of development on critical parameters,” he said.
Underscoring the long-drawn demand by local stakeholders including academicians, Tejashwi asked what stopped PM Modi from according a central status to Patna University.
To this, BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad lashed out at Tejashwi Yadav and said the demand was Tejashwi’s “pet project”. He also questioned why his father Lalu Prasad Yadav couldn’t get it done during his stint at the Centre.
Reacting to Lalu Prasad Yadav’s claim on reservations, BJP’s Bihar unit chief Samrat Chaudhary said that recommendations of Mandal Commission were implemented only after critical help was offered by the BJP. He further blamed the RJD patriarch for peddling lies pertaining to reservations for reaping political dividends.
Samrat Chaudhary also claimed that Lalu could become the Chief Minister only after the BJP decided to help.
Published By:
Poorva Joshi
Published On:
May 8, 2024
