Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar on Wednesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on socialist icon and former chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

At the same time, Nitish, however, also took a swipe at the Modi-led BJP government, saying that finally they (BJP) have also realised the importance of Karpoori Thakur.

Addressing a public meeting in Patna — organised by the JD(U) to commemorate the birth centenary of Karpoori — Nitish said: “PM called up Ramnath Thakur (Karpoori’s elder son and JD(U)’s Rajya Sabha MP) to share the news (about Karpoori being awarded the Bharat Ratna). I got the news through Ramnath ji. The PM did not call me. But I want to thank PM through press. Don’t say that he had given Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur because of sustained demands from us. Let him take full credit.”

The CM then said: “They (BJP) have finally realised that they cannot do without Karpoori Thakur. Unki ijjat karenge to unko bhi kuchh mil jayega (if they respect him, they, too will get something. As for me, I have been making the demand for Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur since 2007 from whichever government came to power at the Centre. Finally, this government gave him the honour. We are very happy that our long-pending demand has been fulfilled.”

Pressing for separate reservations for the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) at the national level on the basis of the Karpoori model, Nitish said: “Jan Nayak (Karpoori) had pioneered separate quotas for EBC and OBC by giving them 12% and 8% reservation respectively. Let there be the same model in the country.”

Highlighting Karpoori’s opposition to dynastic politics, the JD(U) supremo said, “Karpoori never promoted his family. It was only after his death, we pressured his son Ramnath to join politics. He is now Rajya Sabha MP and we respect him very much. Lekin aajkal to log parivar karte rahte hai… aaj log bahut parivar ko badhate rahte hai (these days, people keep promoting their family members in politics). But like Karpoori, I have not promoted my family in politics”. He, however, did not mention any names, even as his Mahagathbandhan allies like the RJD and Congress have often drawn fire from the BJP for allegedly promoting “dynastic politics”.

Elaborating how he assumed Karpoori’s legacy, Nitish said: “We often talk about Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi), Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, B R Ambedkar and Karpoori Thakur. While Karpoori himself worked on the ideas of four great people, I have been also trying to follow Karpoori and others. I am into the 18th year as the CM and have done everything that furthers Karpoori’s legacy… EBC is more in numbers than OBC and they are also poorer – let Centre also work its policy around EBC and OBC lines”.

The CM also flagged the two-time CM Karpoori’s efforts for enforcing prohibition in Bihar. “Just when he (Karpoori) had been doing a host of good things, his government was pulled down,” he said, while also mentioning the Karpoori government’s achievements of taking electricity to every Bihar household besides ensuring potable drinking water across the state.

The Bihar BJP, which also commemorated Karpoori’s birth centenary, continued to distance itself from Nitish, with state BJP chief Samrat Choudhary saying that “There is no question of getting Nitish Kumar back in NDA”.

There have been speculations over growing strains in Nitish’s relations with the Opposition INDIA bloc for several days. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi asked, “Why did RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who had been Union minister, not get Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur? It was Narendra Modi government that bestowed the honour on Karpoori. As for Nitish, media should stop making speculations. Nitish’s politics has been exhausted. He is a liability now”.

As the CM in 1978, Karpoori, who belonged to the EBC Nai community, implemented a layered reservation regime, which was then unparalleled. It provided a 26% reservation model in which EBCs got 12% quota, OBCs got 8%, women got 3%, and economically backward classes (EBWs) from among upper castes got 3%.

The Modi government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna on Karpoori barely a couple of months before the Lok Sabha polls indicated the BJP’s attempt to stake claim over his legacy. It also signalled the BJP’s bid to blunt the campaigns of its Bihar rivals, the JD(U) and RJD, which have been raising the social justice pitch by keeping Karpoori at the fulcrum of their EBC and OBC politics.

The Nitish dispensation’s move to conduct a caste survey in Bihar last year after the Centre brushed aside its demand for a nationwide caste census put the BJP on the back foot.

By deciding to bestow the Bharat Ratna on Karpoori, the Modi government has tried to turn the tables on the Mahagathbandhan now.