RJD Leader Manoj Jha Clarifies His ‘Thakur’ Remark In Rajya Sabha, Says It Was Not About Caste But Mindset

Rajya Sabha MP and RJD leader Manoj Jha on Saturday clarified his Thakur remark and said that he was not targeting any community and caste while reciting the poem, titled ‘Thakur Ka Kuan’ during his speech discussing Women’s Reservation Bill in the upper house of Parliament. 

Jha had made a plea for ensuring adequate representation of women from weaker sections like SCs, STs and OBCs in the bill. He said that while reciting the poem written by late Dalit writer Om Prakash Valmiki, he was appealing to ‘kill the Thakur within’. He stated that he gave a disclaimer before reading the poem that it was not related to any caste but to the mindset of oppression and discrimination.

"That poem was written by Om Prakash Valmiki. Before reading that poem, I gave a disclaimer that this is not related to any caste, I said that 'Thakur' can be inside me too. The context of that poem was the inclusion of backwards in the Women's Reservation Bill... I am seeing that after that people are calling me to say absurd things. I have been receiving these calls for the past 72 hours," he said in an interview with news agency ANI. 

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Manoj Jha added he respects all castes and communities and has no intention of hurting anyone’s sentiments. He said the poem was a literary expression of the plight of the oppressed and exploited sections of society.

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The speech sparked a political row in Bihar with several RJD and JD(U) leaders representing the Thakur community criticised Jha for the comment and demanded an apology for humiliating their caste in Parliament.