Bihar assembly passes bills increasing caste reservation to 65%

Patna: The Bihar assembly on Thursday hiked the quota for deprived castes from 50 per cent to 65 per cent in government jobs and educational institutions, taking the overall reservation to 75 per cent.

Addressing the House on the occasion, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, "Now reservations will be 75 per cent, including 10 per cent for economically weaker sections which the Centre introduced a few years ago and we, too, implemented in the state."

Earlier during the day, the assembly unanimously hiked quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from the existing 50 per cent to 65 per cent.

Bills providing for the same in educational institutions and government jobs, drafted in the backdrop of a comprehensive caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar government, were passed unanimously, through voice vote.

As per the Bills, the quota for STs will be doubled, from one to two per cent, while for SCs it will be raised from 16 per cent to 20 per cent.

For EBCs, the quota will be 25 per cent, up from 18 per cent, while for the OBCs it will rise from 12 per cent to 15 per cent.

Kumar said, "The rise in quotas in Bihar follows the caste survey which was conducted after a consensus was reached among all the nine parties which have representation in this House."

"The survey has provided us with comprehensive data. We will use it to introduce more measures for the uplift of socially, educationally and economically backward sections of society. I will be glad if the Centre, too, agrees to a caste census and hike reservations across the country," said Kumar.

The JD(U) leader also took the opportunity to raise a fresh demand for a grant of special status to Bihar, saying, "Our land was so advanced in ancient times. It stagnated because of historical factors. We need some help to recover our lost glory."