BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Thursday asserted that his party has always worked for the Other Backward Classes, unlike the rival Congress which sat on the report of Mandal Commission.

Nadda made the statement in the capital of Bihar, where the findings of a caste survey were released recently, triggering speculations of a countrywide consolidation of OBCs and EBCs who have been found to account for more than 60 per cent of the state’s population.

The BJP president, whose party is viewed as pro-upper caste, mocked the Congress for its advocacy of a nationwide caste census, reminding it that the recommendations of the Mandal Commission were implemented by the BJP-supported government of V P Singh "because Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi chose to sit on the report for years".

He also said, "The Congress-led UPA, of which Lalu Prasad’s RJD was a part, did not think of according constitutional status to the National Commission for OBCs. That was done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also, during his government, four lakh OBC students have been admitted to central schools across the country".

"We must, however, remember that Modi considers poverty itself to be a form of caste. And his government has helped 12 crore poor people to enter the middle-income group. This is not my claim. The International Monetary Fund said this," the BJP president asserted.

In the last five years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced to less than one per cent of the population, Nadda claimed.

He also alleged that the INDIA coalition was formed to "protect political dynasties and those involved in corruption".

-With PTI Input