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regular-article-logo Tuesday, 07 May 2024

Chief minister Nitish Kumar hints at revisiting quota with census in Bihar

CM announces that he will do so after tabling socio-economic data of survey in state legislature during upcoming winter session

Dev Raj Patna Published 12.10.23, 06:42 AM
Nitish Kumar addresses the media in Patna on Wednesday.

Nitish Kumar addresses the media in Patna on Wednesday. PTI picture

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar indicated on Wednesday that he had plans to revisit the reservation system in the state in the light of the recent publication of a caste-based survey report.

He announced that he would do so after tabling the socio-economic data of the survey in the Assembly during the winter session.

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“Whatever we will do, we will first present in the House. We will table everything in the House. We will listen to everybody’s (all parties’) suggestions and then the government will do whatever it decides to. Do not ask me right now. I am not going to tell anything,” Nitish told journalists when asked whether he would increase the threshold of reservations in the state.

Speaking on the sidelines of a programme organised on the birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, the chief minister said the demand for caste-based surveys on the lines of one in Bihar had cropped up in other states as well.

The first part of the survey report pertaining to population and various castes counted under 215 heads was released on October 2 on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. The socio-economic data of the people will be tabled in the legislature during the winter session.

The survey pegs Bihar’s population at 13.07 crore with 36.02 per cent extremely backward castes (EBC), 27.13 per cent other backward castes (OBC), 19.65 per cent Scheduled Castes (SC), 15.52 per cent general category castes and 1.68 per cent Scheduled Tribes (ST).

Sources said the Bihar government was planning various types of affirmative action and could raise the 50 per cent threshold of reservation for the SC, ST, EBC and OBC in the state. Bihar also provides for 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections among the general category castes.

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