Today in Politics: Maratha quota plea in SC, Nitish Kumar to address Karpoori Thakur birth centenary event

Ahead of Republic Day celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet tableau artists and NCC cadets who will participate in the January 26 parade at his official residence on Wednesday.

The PM is also expected to virtually address the “new voters’ conference” organised by the BJP’s Yuva Morcha on Wednesday. As the Lok Sabha polls approach, Modi is scheduled to address 50 lakh first-time voters while the party’s youth wing is also set to hold youth-voter conferences at 5,000 locations across India.

On Tuesday, the Centre announced that social justice icon Karpoori Thakur would be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna amid a three-day celebration organised by the JD(U)-led Bihar government to mark the former Chief Minister’s birth centenary. A public meeting will be held in Patna on Wednesday as part of these celebrations, where CM Nitish Kumar is likely to make some significant announcements.

The PM acknowledged the award in a social media post, saying, “I am delighted that the government of India has decided to confer the Bharat Ratna on the beacon of social justice, the great Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Ji and that too at a time when we are marking his birth centenary. This prestigious recognition is a testament to his enduring efforts as a champion for the marginalised.”

A two-time Bihar CM and socialist stalwart, Karpoori is popularly referred to as “Jannayak” or people’s leader. He is widely considered as the pioneer of EBC (Extreme Backward Classes) and OBC (Other Backward Classes) reservations in the country. Parties in Bihar, including the JD(U) and RJD, have regularly demanded the Bharat Ratna for Thakur.

By evoking Thakur, the BJP is making a direct appeal to the non-Yadav OBCs whom Nitish has come to