In a new avatar as “angry old man”, BJP Rajya Sabha member Dr C.P. Thakur has been driving unease in the NDA by voicing his concern over lathicharge on people from the upper castes demanding reservation.

Thakur, 85, has been condemning police lathicharge on unarmed people, including women and children, at Belaganj in Gaya district in the aftermath of the September 6 Bharat Bandh.

“The police acted brutally. They barged into houses and thrashed people, including women and children, after enquiring about their castes. This is abominable and reminds people of the British Raj. Upper caste people were agitating with a legitimate demand,” Thakur, a three-time member of the Lok Sabha and two-time member of the Rajya Sabha, said on Saturday.

Upper castes’ organisations had called the Bharat Bandh to press for reservation. Thakur, a Bhumihar by caste, said he and his supporters will stage a dharna in Gaya on October 7 against the atrocities on the innocent.

“I met the wife of a martyred soldier, who died fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. She was beaten up by the police. This is intolerable and unpardonable and there should be justice,” Thakur added.

He said the upper castes — who have no objection about reservation to Scheduled Castes or others — are now placing a “legitimate demand” of their own. “They are just making a legitimate demand for themselves, because there are many among Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasthas, Sheikh and Sayyed who are poor and cannot even afford proper food, clothes and education for their children,” the veteran leader said.

“The BJP must rethink its stand, else it may suffer. There is a large population among upper castes, including Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasthas, Sheikhs and Sayyeds. I have told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that upper castes should also be given reservation. I will again ask the top leaders of my party to think about it,” Thakur said.

While the BJP has adopted an ambiguous stance on the upper castes’ reservation demand, its ally — chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United — has pointed out that there was no provision in the Constitution for such affirmative action for the upper castes. The Congress has, however, expressed support for the demand.

Meanwhile, the Congress has given fair representation to upper castes in its organisational changes in Bihar. Madan Mohan Jha, a Brahmin, has been appointed as Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president.

Old-timers point out there is a growing feeling among the upper castes that they have been at the receiving end, and stuck with the BJP in Bihar for almost three decades now.

However, a senior BJP leader told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity that Thakur “was not just supporting reservation for the upper castes, but was actually voicing his anger over being sidelined in the party, with little hope of being repeated in the Rajya Sabha or being given an opportunity at the Centre. His words just denote that he is bitter about not being given prominence in the party”.