Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal United (JDU) has dubbed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent Bihar visits as a political gimmick aimed at attracting the Dalit and backward communities towards the Congress party before the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was in Patna to attend the Save Constitution Conclave on 18 January. He visited again on 5 February to pay tribute to Jaglal Chaudhary on his birth anniversary.
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Dr Ashok Choudhary, JDU National General Secretary, told the newsmen in Patna on Friday that the Congress leader’s love for Dalit icons Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar and Jaglal Chaudhary is temporary. It is situational, not ideological.
The JDU leader agreed that Jagalal Chaudhary was a very old Congress leader, but pointed out that the party never commemorated his birth anniversary. The party was in power for several decades and also ruled the state as a coalition partner. But the party never thought of paying respect to such a stalwart of Bihar politics. Even his statue was installed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
“The Congress is remembering Jaglal Chaudhary and Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar now because assembly elections are due later this year. But people are not ignorant, they understand everything,” he said.
Commenting on Rahul Gandhi’s repeated call for conducting a nation-wide caste census, the JDU leader said that it was Nitish Kumar who decided to conduct it in Bihar. Later when Kumar suggested to conduct the survey across the country, Mamata Banerjee opposed it and the Congress also remained silent.
Of late, Rahul Gandhi has been mentioning from various forums that the Congress party failed to maintain the trust of Dalits and backward communities.
In an attempt to correct the past mistakes, the party has been focusing on Dalits, Tribals and Backward Classes, who make up 73 per cent of the population. The party recently welcomed several prominent politicians and social workers from Bihar, representing Dalits, minorities and backward classes.
