Which of the following statements is correct?

Statement A- Karpoori Thakur headed the Second Backward Classes Commission, meant to look into and recommend ways to improve the conditions of the backward classes in India.

Statement B- Bindeshwari Prasad was the Chief Minister of Bihar who pioneered in introducing the policy of reservation in Bihar.

Both Statements are incorrect.

The correct answer is Option 4 - Both Statements are incorrect.

Statement A- Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal, not Karpoori Thakur headed the Second Backward Classes Commission, meant to look into and recommend ways to improve the conditions of the backward classes in India.

Statement B- Karpoori Thakur, not Bindeshwari Prasad was the Chief Minister of Bihar who pioneered in introducing the policy of reservation in Bihar.

Reservations for the OBC were in existence in southern States since the 1960s, if not earlier. But this policy was not operative in north Indian States. It was during the tenure of Janata Party government in 1977-79 that the demand for reservations for backward castes in north India and at the national level was strongly raised. Karpoori Thakur, the then Chief Minister of Bihar, was a pioneer in this direction. His government had introduced a new policy of reservations for OBCs in Bihar. Following this, the central government appointed a Commission in 1978 to look into and recommend ways to improve the conditions of the backward classes. This was the second time since Independence that the government had appointed such a commission. Therefore, this commission was officially known as the Second Backward Classes Commission. Popularly, the commission is known as the Mandal Commission, after the name of its Chairperson, Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal.