07-11-2023 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has put forward a proposal to increase reservation quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in government jobs and education to 65 percent. When combined with the central government’s 10 percent reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), the total reservation will reach 75 percent, surpassing the Supreme Court’s 50 percent cap on state quotas.
Speaking in the state assembly, Nitish Kumar indicated his intention to introduce legislation to implement this proposal during the ongoing session. He emphasized the need to raise the SC and ST quota from the current 17 percent to 22 percent and increase the OBC reservation from 30 percent to 43 percent.
Notably, the OBCs, including the extremely backward classes, make up a significant 63 percent of Bihar’s total population, as revealed by the latest caste survey. SCs and STs together constitute slightly over 21 percent.
Earlier, a comprehensive report from the caste survey was presented in the assembly, disclosing that more than one-third of families in Bihar lived in poverty with a monthly income of Rs 6,000 or less. Out of the state’s 2.97 crore families, over 94 lakhs (34.13 percent) were categorized as poor.
The caste census in Bihar was conducted by the JD(U)-RJD government after the central government declined to undertake such an exercise. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had criticized Nitish’s government for allegedly inflating the numbers of Muslims and Yadavs in the caste survey for “appeasement politics.” Nitish refuted these allegations and emphasized the accuracy of the survey results, even noting that his own caste (Kurmis) was a smaller percentage of the population than previously believed.
The chief minister also reiterated his demand for special category status for Bihar and expressed the government’s intent to forward a copy of the survey report to the central government, seeking additional support for initiatives aimed at assisting vulnerable sections of society.