PATNA: Lalu Prasad Yadav has finally decided to become an author. He revealed plans on Tuesday to write a book. The hero of the book is the man himself, and the subject is how he got the Mandal Commission recommendations implemented against all odds.
The inspiration, he said, came from his mentor, Karpoori Thakur, the late chief minister of Bihar. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo declared his literary ambitions at the 92nd birth of Thakur, who was a major votary of reservation for the backward classes.
“After I became chief minister of Bihar, I was fortunate enough with Karpoorijee’s blessings that I got Mandal Commission’s recommendations implemented. It is not easy to describe how hard it was. I will write a book to reveal it all,” said Lalu Prasad.
The Mandal Commission report, which recommended 27 per cent reservation for OBC candidates in the government at all levels, was accepted by the central government of Prime Minister V P Singh on August 7, 1990. The move unleashed violent protests nationwide by anti-reservation groups and retaliatory measures by those who supported it.
“Many people today take credit for the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations, but I will write a book to tell the real story behind it,” he said.
Giving a sneak preview, Lalu Prasad recalled, “I and some others were with Karpoori Thakur at the forefront of the early movement for reservation for the backward castes. At a rally in Gorakhpur, we were all beaten up.”
Yadav lavished praise on Thakur for the uplift of the backward classes in Bihar. “It was sheer coincidence that I got Karpoorijee’s blessings abundantly and I got power. I became the opposition leader and then the chief minister. Then I was so fortunate that with Karpoorijee’s blessings that I got Mandal Commission’s recommendations implemented,” Yadav further said.