PATNA: A political firestorm has erupted in Bihar over the legacy of former CM and socialist icon ‘Jan Nayak’ Karpoori Thakur, with two major political parties—BJP and Congress—clashing over the ‘Jan Nayak’ title for Rahul Gandhi.
With campaigning for the upcoming Assembly elections intensifying, the controversy is likely to take centrestage. On Monday, Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary alleged that the Congress was attempting to “steal” the departed leader’s title.
“This is an insult to the legacy of Karpoori Thakur ji. It were the people who made Karpoori Ji ‘Jan Nayak’ and not social media that bestowed the title to the Congress leader, who is out on bail,” he told the media.
The row erupted after PM Narendra Modi, during his Samastipur visit to address a public rally on October 24, said, “Now they (Congress) are attempting to steal the title of Jan Nayak from our socialist leader Karpoori Thakur. But people of Bihar will not let it happen and give them a befitting answer in the upcoming Assembly elections,” the PM alleged.
Meanwhile, defending his party’s stand, Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram said that Rahul Gandhi has been bestowed the title of Jan Nayak by the people. He is a mass leader. “It is not for the Prime Minister or the BJP to decide whether the LoP in the Lok Sabha is a Jan Nayak or not, as the public has bestowed the title on him,” Ram added.
Notably, in September, a poster was put up outside the state Congress headquarters—Sadaquat Ashram—calling Rahul Gandhi ‘Jan Nayak’.
Similarly, a poster was erected outside RJD office showing Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as Bihar’s ‘Nayak’ (leader). This assumed significance in the wake of Tejashwi declared chief ministerial candidate of Opposition INDIA bloc. However, Gandhi was missing from the poster erected outside RJD office on Saturday.
Union minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram said, “We are a democratic nation in which people are supreme. They will teach those attempting to steal the title of ‘Jan Nayak’ a lesson,” he added.
‘Title bestowed upon Rahul by the masses’ : Cong
After PM Modi accused the Congress of stealing the title of ‘Jan Nayak’ from late socialist leader Karpoori Thakur during a recent public rally, the Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram has defended his party’s stand. He said Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi has been given the title by the general public as he is a leader of the common masses.
