The personality of many people influences our lives. It is natural for the words of the people we meet and those we keep in touch with to have an impact. But there are some people who you get impressed by just hearing about them. Jannayak Karpoori Thakur has been like this for me.
Today is the 100th birth anniversary of Karpoori Babu. I never got the opportunity to meet Karpoori Ji, but I have heard a lot about him from Kailashpati Mishra Ji, who worked very closely with him. The efforts made by Karpuri Babu for social justice brought a big change in the lives of crores of people. He belonged to the barber community, i.e. the most backward class of the society. Jannayak Karpoori Thakur Ji's entire life was dedicated to simplicity and social justice.
He used to insist that not even a single penny of government money should be used in any of his work. A similar incident happened in Bihar during his tenure as Chief Minister. It was then decided to build a colony for the leaders of the state, but they did not take any land for themselves. Whenever he was asked why he was not taking the land, he would just fold his hands politely. When he died in 1988, many leaders visited his village to pay homage. Seeing the condition of Karpoori ji's house, tears welled up in his eyes as he wondered how a person holding such a high position could have such a simple house. Another popular story of Karpoori Babu's simplicity is from 1977 when he became the Chief Minister of Bihar. At that time the Janata government was in power at the Center and Bihar. At that time, many leaders gathered in Patna for the birthday of Janata Party leader Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan i.e. JP. The kurta of Chief Minister Karpoori Babu who was involved in it was torn. In such a situation, Chandrashekhar ji, in his unique style, appealed to the people to donate some money, so that Karpoori ji could buy a new kurta. But Karpoori ji was Karpoori ji. He accepted the money but donated it to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
His political career is known for his efforts to build a society where resources and opportunities are equally distributed among all people. When Congress was ruling everywhere, he decided to follow the anti-Congress line, because he realized that Congress had deviated from its basic principles.
Karpoori Thakur ji's electoral journey began in the early 1950s and it was from here that he emerged as a powerful leader in the state House. He became a powerful voice for the struggle of the working class, laborers, small farmers, and youth. Throughout his political career, he left no stone unturned in providing education to the poor. He was a great advocate of imparting education in local languages so that people of villages and small towns also get a good education. Democracy, debate, and discussion were an integral part of Karpoori ji's personality. His dedication to democracy was visible during the Quit India Movement. He also strongly opposed the Emergency. Celebrities like JP, Dr. Lohia, and Charan Singh Ji were also greatly influenced by him. He had made a concrete action plan to empower the backward and deprived sections of society. Under his leadership, policies were implemented that laid the strong foundation of an inclusive society where one's birth does not determine one's destiny. He worked not only for the backward classes but for all classes.
Our government is continuously working taking inspiration from Jannayak Karpoori Thakur ji. This is also reflected in our policies and schemes, which have brought positive changes across the country. The biggest tragedy of Indian politics was that, except for a few leaders like Karpuri ji, the talk of social justice had become just a political slogan. Inspired by Karpoori ji's vision, we implemented it as an effective governance model. I can say with confidence and pride that today Jannayak Karpuri ji would be proud of the achievement of bringing 25 crore people of India out of poverty. Among those who have come out of poverty, most of them are people from the backward sections of society, who were deprived of basic facilities even after 70 years of independence.
Today we are trying for saturation so that 100 percent of beneficiaries get the benefits of each scheme. Our efforts in this direction show the government's resolve towards social justice. Today, when people from OBC, SC, and ST communities are becoming entrepreneurs through Mudra Loan, it is fulfilling the dreams of Karpoori Thakur ji of economic independence. Similarly, our government has expanded the scope of SC, ST, and OBC reservations. We also got the opportunity to set up the OBC Commission (sadly, Congress had opposed it), which is working on the path shown by Karpoori ji. The PM-Vishwakarma scheme launched some time ago, will also create new avenues of prosperity for crores of people of the OBC community in the country.
As a person belonging to a backward class, I have learned a lot from the life of Jannayak Karpoori Thakur ji. Karpoori Babu has had direct and indirect contributions to the lives of many people like me. I will always be grateful to him for this. Unfortunately, we lost him at the age of 64, when the country needed him the most. Even though he is not among us today, he is alive in the hearts and minds of crores of countrymen because of his work for public welfare. He was a true public leader.
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