Centre awarded Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur due to caste census: Lalu

New Delhi: The Bharat Ratna to former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur was a result of fear in the central government after the caste census done by the Bihar government, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav claimed on Tuesday.

Yadav said this in a post on X after the Centre announced the award.

मेरे राजनीतिक और वैचारिक गुरु स्व॰ कर्पूरी ठाकुर जी को भारत रत्न अब से बहुत पहले मिलना चाहिए था। हमने सदन से लेकर सड़क तक ये आवाज़ उठायी लेकिन केंद्र सरकार तब जागी जब सामाजिक सरोकार की मौजूदा #बिहार सरकार ने जातिगत जनगणना करवाई और आरक्षण का दायरा बहुजन हितार्थ बढ़ाया। डर ही सही… pic.twitter.com/aWLctAMKuX

— Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) January 23, 2024

Chosen for the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna a day ahead of his birth anniversary, Karpoori Thakur has been the veritable “Jan Nayak” or people’s hero of politics in Bihar, whose legacy parties cutting across ideologies seek to claim.

The announcement by the Centre was greeted by a moving tribute from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and an expression of gratitude from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar whose JD(U) has planned a big rally to mark the birth anniversary on Wednesday.

Born in 1924 in a village in Samastipur district which has since been re-named after him, Thakur, who had two short-lived tenures as the Chief Minister, began his political activism as a young student during the Quit India which caused him to spend several months in jail.