Nitish slams Congress for ‘Jannayak’ appropriation

Patna: CM Nitish Kumar on Friday took a swipe at the Congress and its allies for appropriating the epithet ‘Jannayak’, a title historically reserved for former socialist and EBC icon Karpoori Thakur. Thakur was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna last year by the NDA govt led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.“These days, some persons are busy declaring themselves as Jannayak and are thereby trying to insult the real Jannayak,” Nitish said, in an apparent attack on the Congress and its allies. The EBCs have remained a core support base for Nitish over the past two decades.In a post on his social media account, the CM described Thakur as a “symbol of purity and simplicity in public life who had dedicated himself to social justice and has been an inspiration for us.

We had long been demanding the conferment of the Bharat Ratna award to him, but the Congress govt at the Centre did not accept it.”Nitish added, “It is shameful on the part of the RJD and other alliance partners of the Mahagathbandhan to silently accept and support such an appropriation of the epithet Jannayak.”Recalling Thakur’s 1978 decision to grant reservation in govt jobs to backward classes, Nitish said the Congress had strongly opposed it. “Today, the RJD is in alliance with the same Congress,” he said.The CM added that he had extended reservation for women and EBCs in panchayati raj institutions. “I have worked to fulfil the dreams of Karpoori Thakur,” he said.