RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son Tejashwi Yadav
Credit: PTI File Photo
Patna: RJD president Lalu Prasad on Thursday vowed to ensure that a caste census is conducted, saying he will "catch the RSS-BJP by the ear" to make it happen.
The former Bihar chief minister made the remark at a function organised by his party to mark the birth anniversary of OBC stalwart Babu Jagdeo Prasad, whose aggressive style of political mobilisation had earned him the epithet "Lenin of Bihar".
"I will catch the RSS-BJP by the ear and make them get caste census done", said Prasad, evoking applause and laughter from the crowds.
The ailing septuagenarian, who nowadays rarely turns up at public functions, spoke for less than five minutes and in a weak voice though he remained the cynosure of all eyes at the RJD office which was choc-a-bloc with workers and supporters.
Earlier, his younger son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav gave a detailed speech in which the RJD's track record in safeguarding the interests of the backward classes were highlighted.
Yadav pointed out that his father, as the then Bihar CM, had ensured full implementation of Mandal Commission in the state while he, as the then deputy CM, played a key role in ensuring that a caste-based survey took place and quotas for deprived castes were raised as per the revised population estimates.
He also squarely blamed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who realigned with BJP-led NDA earlier this year, for the state's new reservation laws getting struck down by the Patna High Court.
"I had been saying since day one that we must get the laws included in ninth schedule of the Constitution. But Nitish Kumar failed to act in time. Even today, he is unable to leverage his position as the head of JD(U), on which the BJP is dependent for survival in power at the Centre".
Yadav also took a swipe at Kumar over his troubled equations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "the CM is now falling at the feet of the same man whose dinner plate he had snatched away".
The allusion was to the infamous cancellation of a dinner party Kumar had thrown for BJP leaders, including Modi, then his Gujarat counterpart, over a decade ago, and a recent video clip in which the Bihar CM appeared to be touching the feet of the PM.
The RJD leader also credited his party, which has four MPs in Lok Sabha and about as many in Rajya Sabha, for the Centre's withdrawal of lateral entry in bureaucracy which he saw as "an indirect attempt to do away with reservations".
Yadav, who has been trying to win over social groups other than the RJD's core base of Muslims and Yadavs, also pointed out that his party gave the highest number of tickets to Kushwahas, who revered Babu Jagdeo Prasad.
"I hereby demand Bharat Ratna for Babu Jagdeo Prasad", said Yadav, adding "let all backward classes come together and not get swayed by BJP's divisive tactics. I promise that we will continue to give Kushwahas their due in the assembly polls due next year".