"People won't accept imitations of Karpoori Thakur," asserts Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

Darbhanga (Bihar) [India], October 25 (ANI): Union Minister and BJP's Bihar election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said that Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur remains the only true Jananayak of Bihar, emphasising that any attempt to imitate the revered socialist leader would fail to gain public acceptance.
"There is only one Jananayak in Bihar, and that is Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur Ji. If anyone makes a failed attempt to copy him, the people will not accept that," Pradhan said.
Earlier, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal slammed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, whom he believed was attempting to "snatch" the title "Jan Nayak" from Bihar's former CM Karpoori Thakur.
Jaiswal called this an "insult to Bihar and backward community."
"On the one hand, Rahul Gandhi wants to snatch the term 'Jan Nayak' from Karpoori Thakur... This is an insult to Bihar and the backward community," he said.
Dilip Jaiswal's criticism of Rahul Gandhi comes after several Congress leaders used "Jan Nayak" term for him. The term is commonly associated with Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to socialist icon Karpoori Thakur, calling him an "inspiration" for his government.
He stated, "Today's day is an extremely important day in my life. Before coming here, I had gone to Karpuri Gram, where I got the opportunity to pay my respects and bow to Bharat Ratna Jananayak Karpoori Thakur. It is his blessings that today people like us, from backward and poor families, are standing on this platform."
The Prime Minister praised Karpoori Thakur saying that he has played an immense role in bringing social justice to independent India and connecting the poor and deprived with new opportunities.
"The role of Bharat Ratna Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Ji has been immense on bringing social justice to independent India and connecting the poor and deprived with new opportunities. He was a priceless gem of Mother India. Our government has had the privilege of honoring him with the Bharat Ratna. This is a matter of pride for us. Our government considers Bharat Ratna Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Ji an inspiration. We have moved forward with this resolve of giving preference to the deprived, prioritizing the backward, and serving the poor," PM Modi said.
The Assembly elections in Bihar will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The results will be declared on November 14. (ANI)