After Ram kaaj, it’s garib kaaj by PM: Amit Shah on Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur

“On January 23, he fulfilled the long-awaited wish of crores of poor, deprived, exploited, Dalits, tribals, that the people’s leader (Jan Nayak), who made social justice a reality, get the Bharat Ratna award,” Shah said.

“22 tarikh ko Modiji ne Ram kaaj kiya, aur 23 tarikh ko garib kaaj kar, Ram aur garib ko jodne ka prayas kiya (Modiji completed Lord Ram’s task on January 22 and by undertaking the cause of the poor on January 23, he tried to link Ram and the poor),” Shah said, adding that the poor are being honoured after so many years because “the son of a poor tea seller is the Prime Minister of the country”.

“In the 10 years of Prime Minister Modi, 23 crore Indians have come out of poverty, 4 crore people have got their pucca houses, 3 crore electricity connections have been provided, 10 crore people have received gas cylinders, 14 crore households have received tap water connections, 13 crore toilets have been constructed, and every month 80 crore poor are getting 5 kg food grain free of cost,” Shah said, listing the achievements of the Modi government.

Recalling Thakur’s popularity as Jan Nayak, Shah said, “He became Jan Nayak because of his conduct and sensitivity towards the poor and the deprived. However, it took ages to bestow on him the Bharat Ratna award. Many people came (to power) but no one found it appropriate to confer Bharat Ratna on Karpoori Thakur.”

The Union Home Minister said that for ages political parties have demanded Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur but when they came to power, “they completely forgot about the demand”.

“Today, on the 100th birth anniversary of Karpoori Thakur, Narendra Modi, born in a poor family like his (Thakur), has bestowed on him the Bharat Ratna,” Shah said.

Shah also slammed the Congress “for its tradition of honouring leaders of only one family”.

“Congress ne ek parampara kari thi ki ek pariwar ke aaspas hi jan nayakon ka, lok nayakon ka aur sarvajanik jiwan ke netaon ka samman ho. Modiji ne wo parampara todi hai. (The Congress had started a tradition of honouring leaders of only one family. Modiji has broken that tradition),” Shah said.

He said that the PM constructed an unforgettable memorial of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and has honoured many freedom fighters and heroes during the celebrations of the 75th year of India’s Independence and in that series of honouring India’s greats, Bharat Ratna was announced for Thakur.

Shah went on to list the initiatives taken by the Modi government for the uplift of the backward communities in the country. “There are 27 OBC ministers in the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. This is because Prime Minister Modi himself comes from an extreme backward society,” Shah said.

On the occasion, Union Ministers Dr Virendra Kumar, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Nityanand Rai, and Meenakshi Lekhi were also present.

In a separate event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Thakur’s entire life was dedicated to social justice and upliftment of the underprivileged.

“You all must have seen that yesterday the country has taken a big decision. This is the decision to give Bharat Ratna to Jannayak Karpoori Thakur ji. It is very important for today’s young generation to know about Karpoori Thakur ji and learn from his life. It is the good fortune of our BJP government that it got the opportunity to honor Jannayak Karpoori Thakur with Bharat Ratna,” Modi said, addressing NCC/ NSS cadets.

“Fighting challenges like extreme poverty and social inequality, he reached a very high position in national life. He was also the Chief Minister of Bihar twice. Despite this, he never gave up his humble nature and worked for all sections of the society. Jannayak Karpoori Thakur was always known for his simplicity. His entire life was dedicated to social justice and upliftment of the underprivileged. Even today his honesty is an example,” he said.