‘We are hurt…why is CM silent?’: Tejashwi Yadav on Patna High court order rejecting 65% quota

The Patna high court passed the order on a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the legislations brought by the state government

Published on: Jun 20, 2024, 17:40:23 IST

By HT News Desk

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Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday questioned Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar after the Patna high court scrapped the state government's quota hike to 65 per cent.

“We are hurt and we were suspecting this earlier that the BJP will try to stop the reservation. We already said this during elections that BJP people are against the reservation. You must be aware that when we conducted the caste-based survey, people of BJP filed PIL to try to stop it, but we won at the end. I don't understand why the CM is silent on this,” Yadav told news agency PTI.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order on a batch of writ petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the legislations brought by the state government in November last year.

A file photo of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav

The Bihar government in November last year had issued the gazette notifications for two quota bills- Bihar Reservation of vacancies in posts and services (For SC, ST, EBC and OBC) Amendment Bill and the Bihar (In Admission In Educational, Institutions) Reservation Amendment Bill, 2023, paving the way for increase in quota from the existing 50% to 65%.

At that time Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United was part of the Mahagathbandhan, comprising Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress.

ALSO READ: ‘Violative of equality clause’: Patna HC sets aside 65% for SC, ST & OBC

'Will Bihar govt move Supreme Court?': Congress

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh too questioned the Bihar government over the Patna high court order.

“The Patna High Court has just struck down an Act passed by the Bihar Assembly last year that had provided for 65% reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Extremely Backward Classes in State Government jobs and educational institutions. The High Court held that this breached the 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court,” the Congress leader said on X.

“Will the Bihar Govt now go in for immediate appeal to the Supreme Court? Will the NDA Govt at the Centre put its full and serious weight behind the appeal? Will Parliament get an opportunity to discuss the issue at the earliest?” he added.

(With agency inputs)

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