Video: Rahul Gandhi Meets Lalu Yadav, His Family In Patna

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Saturday evening met Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his son and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, in Patna.

The Congress MP earlier in the day addressed 'Samvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' in Patna during his visit to the state.

पटना पहुंचकर वरिष्ठ कांग्रेस नेता श्री @RahulGandhi जी ने आदरणीय श्री @laluprasadrjd जी और श्रीमती @RabriDeviRJD जी से उनके आवास पर भेंट की। श्री Tejashwi Yadav जी एवं सम्पूर्ण राजद परिवार ने स्नेहपूर्वक श्री राहुल गांधी जी से भेंट कर आवास भ्रमण भी कराया!#Bihar pic.twitter.com/kCh1U3RuhM

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) January 18, 2025

During his address, Rahul Gandhi hit out at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, calling the state's caste census a "fake" one.

"Caste census should be conducted to understand the true situation of the nation. It will not be like the fake caste census that has been conducted in Bihar...A policy should be made based on the caste census...Congress will pass the caste census in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. We will demolish the barrier of 50 per cent reservations...," he said.

Targeting the BJP, he said, "When they came to know that the people from the backward community, Dalits are taking the representation, they gave you the representation but took away the power. They put their people in every organisation...", he alleged.

Rahul Gandhi also continued his attack on the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's reported remarks about not considering August 15, 1947, as the day of independence.

The Congress MP accused the RSS chief of downplaying the ideology of BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi from every institution in India. He also advocated for the ideology of the Constitution. He said,"...We wanted that just like the water of Ganga flows everywhere, the ideology of the Constitution should also reach every person, every institution of the nation."

Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh told reporters, "He finds everything fake when he is the 'Sardar' of fakeness. The caste census that happened in Bihar, based on that he was demanding a caste census (nationwide). When we were part of the INDIA alliance and were demanding the same, then they were silent. Why were they silent?"

Earlier, the Caste Census was conducted in Bihar under the JDU-RJD-Congress alliance headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state comes at a time when the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) aspirants' protests are in full swing.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)