Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may have backed the demand for inclusion of Patels in the OBC list but his party chief Sharad Yadav said in Madhepura Wednesday that Patels of Gujarat are “well-off and do not need reservation”. “Reservation is not for the affluent. Patels in Gujarat are affluent and can do without reservation. Their agitation is not in the right spirit,” he told reporters. Reminded about Nitish’s support to lead agitator Hardik Patel, Sharad Yadav said: “That is Nitish Kumar’s stand. I hold reservation is for the poor and deserving”. WATCH VIDEO: Patel Row Turns Violent: Eight Dead, PM Modi Calls For Peace & There's More Than Meets The Eye [App users click here to see video] JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi backed Nitish’s stand. He told The Indian Express: “Castes similar to Patels are in the OBC list in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and UP. It is only logical that Patel should be included in the OBC list in Gujarat.” [related-post] He cited the example of Nitish’s caste, Kurmi, “who use Patel besides other surnames in Bihar. The young Patel leader is justified in his demand.” RJD chief Lalu Prasad, meanwhile, extended “full support” to the Patel agitation. “We fully and strongly support the demand for reservation by Patel and Patidar castes in Gujarat as it has the theme of social justice at its roots,” PTI quoted him as saying. “It is now established that the BJP headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is anti-backward and anti-social justice. They have always been opposed to reservation for the poor and downtrodden.”
