"Is it not a fact that Jan Sangh brought down Karpoori Thakur's govt?": Jairam Ramesh asks PM Modi

New Delhi [India], October 24 (ANI): As Prime Minister Narendra Modi embarked on his visit to Bihar, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday took a swipe at the PM and asked whether it is not an acknowledged fact that the Jan Sangh, from which the BJP emerged, brought down Thakur's government when he introduced reservation for OBCs.
In a post on X, Ramesh asked three questions to the Prime Minister on his visit to the state. He also alleged that Thakur was subjected to the "vilest abuse" by RSS and Jan Sangh leaders then.
The social media post reads, "Today the Prime Minister is going to the ancestral village of Jannayak Karpoori Thakur ji. Here are our three straight questions to him. Is it not an acknowledged fact that the Jan Sangh - from which the BJP emerged - brought down Karpoori Thakurji's Govt in Bihar in April 1979 when the-then CM introduced reservations for OBCs? Is it not a fact that Karpoori Thakur ji was subjected to the vilest abuse by RSS and Jan Sangh leaders then?"
He further asked, "Is it not a fact that on April 28, 2024 he himself called those demanding a caste census as 'urban naxals' and that both in Parliament (20th July 2021) as well as in the Supreme Court (21st September 2021) his Govt. categorically rejected a caste census?"

"Is it not a fact that he and his trouble-engine sarkar in the state did nothing to provide protection to Bihar's 65% reservation law for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, OBCs, and EBCs under the Constitution of India - a protection that the Congress Govt had provided to a similar law in Tamil Nadu in Sept 1994?" the Congress leader asked.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur in Bihar's Samastipur district, and he later met his family members. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was also present.
Karpuri Thakur, a prominent socialist leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar, is remembered for his dedication to social justice and the upliftment of marginalised communities. His policies, including reservations for backward classes, have had a lasting impact on the state.
The 243-member Bihar assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, with the results set to declared on November 14. (ANI)