NEW DELHI:
Congress
accused the Modi government of hypocrisy in awarding
Bharat Ratna
to late
Karpoori Thakur
while denying his model of social justice by stalling caste census, a reaction that mirrored the comments of ally RJD of Lalu Prasad over that of JD(U) which has expressed gratitude to BJP for the honour to the backward class icon.
With chief minister Nitish Kumar’s fresh positivity towards BJP in the wake of the award triggering renewed speculations about his future moves, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is learnt to have written to the Bihar allies inviting them for Rahul Gandhi’s rally in Purnia.
The public meeting, to be held as part of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra on Jan 30, would become evidence of the durability of the Bihar grand alliance that includes RJD, JDU, Congress, CPI-ML and other Left parties. The letters have gone to Nitish Kumar, Lalu Yadav, Dipankar Bhattacharya among others.
Though the Bihar allies have already been invited earlier, the new request for their presence from the Congress chief appears aimed at removing any possible grievance from the partners that they were not treated with respect. Congress expects CM Kumar as well as the RJD brass, besides the Left, to attend the rally to send out a message of solidarity politically, besides comforting the voters who have been left confused by repeated speculations.
Mirroring the back-handed compliment of RJD to BJP, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remembered Thakur on his birth anniversary and lauded him as the foremost fighter for social justice, while dubbing the Modi government’s decision to “hide” the results of the 2011 socio-economic caste census and its “indifference” to a nationwide caste census as “an attempt to weaken the social justice movement”.
Rahul said “bhagidari nyay (participatory justice)” is the principal strand of the five principles of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which can only fructify with a caste census. “It will also be the most sincere tribute to Thakur and his struggle for the empowerment of the backward and the deprived,” he said, adding, “the country now needs ‘true justice’ over ‘symbolic justice’.”
Congress president Kharge called Thakur a “staunch opponent of communalism and narrow-mindedness”, in what appeared a jibe at BJP trying to appropriate the late leader, even as he welcomed the highest civilian honour for Thakur.