Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday thanked the Narendra Modi government for conferring Bharat Ratna on his mentor Karpoori Thakur but taunted the ruling dispensation at the Centre for not acknowledging that the move followed his "relentless demands".

At a rally organised by the JD(U) here on the 100th birth anniversary of late Karpoori Thakur, Kumar made it clear that the highest civilian honour was "fulfilment of only one of our many demands".

"It has been long since I have been organising functions in the honour of Karpoori Thakur and writing letters to the Centre, be it the previous Congress regime or the current one, requesting Bharat Ratna for the Jan Nayak. The move is proof of the realisation that you cannot go far without respecting his contributions", said Kumar, in an oblique reference to the BJP's attempt to make a dent in the JD(U)'s support base of extremely backward classes.

Kumar disclosed that before attending the rally, he had visited Karpoori Thakur's ancestral village in Samastipur as he "has been doing for so many years on his birth anniversary", where met the late leader's family members, including son Ramnath Thakur, the JD(U)'s national general secretary and leader in the Rajya Sabha, who was present on the dais.

"I was told by my brother Ramnath Thakur that the PM called him up (after announcement of Bharat Ratna). However, he did not bother to call me. I would like to extend my thanks to him, nonetheless, through the media persons present here. I would like to say to him, you may say that you took the step just like that, without taking into account what we did,", said Kumar, the longest-serving CM of Bihar in his trademark style.

The JD(U) leader, who snapped ties with the BJP less than two years ago and has emerged as a key figure in the opposition INDIA bloc, also dropped hints that contrary to speculations in a section of the media, he did not consider the development as an ice-breaker which could pave the way for his return to the NDA in the foreseeable future.

"You all know that we have raised many demands before the Centre. Only one of them has been fulfilled with Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur. I wish that the needful is done with regard to other demands as well", he said while addressing the rally.

Kumar's litany of grievances includes special status for Bihar, a country-wide caste census and central status to Patna University.

He also pointed out that it was "Karpoori Thakur, who as Bihar chief minister "recognised the Extremely Backward Classes as a separate category for the first time anywhere in the country and introduced quotas for them".

"The EBCs are very poor and have a large population. We took that forward. I hope that the most backward classes would be identified across the country and targeted measures for their uplift will be taken," Kumar said.

The JD(U) supremo, who counts on the imposition of ban on liquor as a major step his government took nearly eight years ago, following demand from the state's women, also pointed out, "It was Karpoori Thakur who first introduced prohibition in Bihar. But his government was toppled before completion of its term and sharaab-bandi was, subsequently, done away with".

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