RJD chief Lalu Prasad questioned the Dalit identity of BJP-led NDA presidential nominee Ram Nath Kovind and claimed that Kovind is not a Dalit but an OBC.
“Kovind Dalit nahi hai, OBC hai,” Lalu said, addressing hundreds of party leaders and workers at a function to mark the 21st foundation day of his Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party.
Lalu said Kovind has been made a candidate by the BJP due to the upcoming Gujarat assembly polls.”Kovind belongs to Koli caste, which is OBC in Gujarat and constitutes 18 per cent of the vote there,” Lalu said.
Lalu said the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-backed BJP has nothing to do with Dalit interests.”The BJP has been doing politics by declaring Kovind as Dalit and using his name for consolidating votes in Gujarat,” he alleged.
Lalu reiterated that he and his party never compromised with its principles and ideology. “Even if the Congress had asked me to support Kovind, I would not have supported him,” he declared.
