Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan today said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks seeking a review of the reservation policy cannot be blamed for NDA's defeat in the Bihar assembly polls.
The LJP supremo also said no particular leader can be blamed for the results and it has to be a "collective responsibility."
"I do not agree with this...Bhagwatji is from an independent organisation. What he says and does not (matter). Bihar is a very politicised place and as I have already said in other states, the issue of development is on top and the caste issue is less significant. But in Bihar the caste issue tops the agenda and development takes a back seat," he told Karan Thapar on 'Nothing But the Truth' on India Today TV.
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He said Bihar has once again proved that (caste issue tops the agenda and development takes a back seat).
"You call it NDA's defeat. It is not NDA's defeat but the defeat of the people of Bihar and its development...As far as Dadri issue is concerned, it happened in UP. It was Mulayam Singh Yadav's responsibility (his SP is ruling the state). These people brought the issue to Bihar and tried to mislead the Muslim...They used Bhagwat's statement to mislead Dalits and Maha Dalits," he said.
Paswan, however, agreed that earlier an LJP assessment of the results had maintained that Bhagwat's remarks "which were twisted" had affected the voters.
He said electoral drubbings are part of political life and the NDA will again do well.
