Patna: Major political parties in Bihar, including the RJD and the RLSP, celebrated former Bihar chief minister B.P. Mandal's birth centenary year on Saturday in the run-up to next year's Lok Sabha elections.
Even chief minister Nitish Kumar was at Muraho village in Madhepura district for a function where he paid floral tributes at Mandal's memorial. However, Nitish did not address the gathering as the programme was restricted to floral tributes. Madhepura MP Pappu Yadav, too, was present.
In Bihar politics, Mandal stands for the backward classes. In a bid to fetch the backward class vote, which plays a pivotal role in Bihar politics, every political party is trying its level best to woo them by organising Mandal's birth centenary celebrations. RSLP chief and junior Union minister Upendra Kushwaha organised a programme at S.K. Memorial Hall where he stressed that more needs to be done for the rights of backwards. He also raised his finger at the collegium system that selects judges and demanded a change in the system.
The Mandal era of Indian politics began in the '90s when then Prime Minister V.P. Singh decided to implement the BP Mandal Commission report, which spoke of caste-based reservation in government jobs for backward classes.
The RJD too organised a function at its party office.
Like his father, Tejashwi compared Mandal with Kamandal. "Mandal" in Bihar politics stands for the backward classes and "Kamandal" identifies people sympathetic to the BJP.
Tejashwi said that BP Mandal was a great soul of social justice and his recommendations are not yet fully implemented, claiming that reservation is not safe under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, because "the Constitution is not in safe hands".
"The reason behind Mandal commission not being fully implemented is Kamandal, as the same people who protested against implementation of Mandal commission are in power today. That's the reason why the struggle to implement his recommendations for the backward classes, extremely backward classes, Dalits and minorities is still going on," Tejashwi said.
He stressed that Kamandal people are sympathisers of M.S. Golwalkar, who wrote a book which talks about exploitation of Dalits.
Tejashwi said his father had played a big role in the implementation of the Mandal commission report.
