Nitish backs 75% total quota as survey outlines inequality

Bihar will bring a bill to hike the quantum of reservation to 75% in the state, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced in the assembly on Tuesday, minutes after tabling the socioeconomic details of a landmark caste survey that can potentially shake up heartland politics and snowball into a significant issue in next summer’s general elections.

- Arun Kumar and Dhrubo Jyoti

The survey – whose preliminary findings were released last month and showed that backward communities make up nearly two-thirds of the state – showed that scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were significantly worse off economically than their upper-caste counterparts.

It also showed that backward communities were yet to catch up to general category groups when it came to formal sector jobs, and lagged behind in property and vehicle ownership. Around 34% of the households in the state earn ₹6,000 a month or lower, the data added.

“The quota for SCs and STs together stands at 17%. It should be raised to 22%. Likewise, the reservation for OBCs should also be hiked from the current 50% to 65%, So, when the EWS quota is added, it will stand at 75%,” Kumar said.

“The increase in the quota will allow OBCs and EBCs to have a larger share (of benefits), in tune with their population,” he added.

Late in the evening, the Bihar cabinet held a special meeting and approved the proposal to increase reservation from existing the 60% (50% for SC, ST and other backward classes, and 10% for economically backward classes) to 75%. The government will table a bill in the ongoing winter session that ends on Friday, said officials with knowledge of development.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backed the proposal. “The BJP gave its full support to increase the reservation limits in Bihar... The 16% reservation to SC should be increased to 20%. We requested that 1% reservation for ST should be increased to 2%. BJP has always extended support to any party when it is for reservation,” said state unit chief Samrat Chaudhary.