Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar pays homage to Karpoori Thakur on his birth anniversary at Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir in Patna on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, Jan. 24: Every political party in Bihar, including the JD(U), BJP and RJD, held separate functions today to celebrate the birth anniversary of one of the state’s biggest political icon and former chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

Thakur is a symbol of one the largest voting block in Bihar — the extremely backward classes (EBCs).

The occasion saw chief minister Nitish Kumar virtually pulling up his ministers and leaders for harping on the caste factor at a function hosted by the party at Bharatiya Nritya Kala Mandir.

Pointing at the ministers and MPs, Nitish said: “I am requesting leaders like Ali Anwar (Raya Sabha MP) and Bhim Singh (rural works minister) with folded hands that do not talk about any particular caste and do not try to bifurcate the community of the EBCs. Such a thing would not help you in the future and the society cannot be united if you keep on talking about one particular caste.”

Slamming them over holding earlier meetings based on caste, Nitish added: “I have been telling you (looking at Bhim Singh and land reforms and revenue minister Ramai Ram) several times that do not hold any sammelan based on caste. Neither does it help nor does it send a good message to the society. Take all the castes together and unite them. Only then a change can be brought in the state.” Nitish’s outburst came after leaders like Ali Anwar, Ramai Ram, Jeetan Ram Majhi (SC/ST welfare minister), Anil Sahni (Rajya Sabha MP) spoke about a particular caste throughout the function in their speeches.

The state BJP played the minorities card on the occasion by taking advantage of the controversy that erupted after Union law minister Salman Khurshid promised to give 4.5 per cent reservation to minorities ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh recently.

At a function held at SK Memorial Hall, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said: “The act (reservation) of the Congress was dangerous, unjustified and a political gimmick to divide the society. We support reservation to the downtrodden of all religions. Our government in the state was the first to reserve 20 per cent seats at the panchayat level and in government jobs for EBCs, which included several castes of the Muslim community,” said Modi.

The RJD function held at the state party headquarters was a low-key affair.

However, MP Ram Kripal Yadav accused the NDA leaders of trying to mislead the people in the name of late Thakur. The party leaders alleged that the NDA never believed in the principles of the leader.