Die is caste, Nitish to seek House nod for 10% quota

Probing the cracks: Ruling NDA has numbers, but perhaps wants to corner RJD, which voted against it in Lok Sabha

The Bihar government will bring a bill for 10% reservation to the upper caste poor in jobs and educational institutions the Bihar Legislative Assembly during the forthcoming budget session, which begins on February 11.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar (Hindustan Times)

Following the Centre’s notification of the new Constitutional provision after it was passed by Parliament, chief minister Nitish Kumar had on Monday said Bihar would also follow suit.

On Tuesday, the decision to bring a Bill was taken late in the evening after high-level deliberations at the official residence of the chief minister.

Chief secretary Deepak Kumar, advocate general Lalit Kishore and other senior officials were present at the meeting, which discussed the modalities of the Bill.

With states like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand having already implemented it, Bihar intends to do in February itself, before the announcement of general election .

Besides, bringing a legislation would give the NDA an opportunity to corner a belligerent RJD in the House and bring to fore the inherent contradictions with the party as well as the Grand Alliance over upper caste quota ahead of elections. While the RJD had voted against the Bill in Parliament, while the Congress voted in favour.

In the 243-member Bihar assembly, the present strength is 240. The NDA comprising JD-U (69), BJP (53) and LJP (2) has adequate strength of 124, while the Opposition has 112 (RJD, 79, Congress , 27, CPI-ML, 3, RLSP, 2 and HAM, 1).

However, placing the Bill in the House would mean discussions over it and a possible be voting, which could make the divide, if any, obvious in a bid to drive home the political message.

Former union minister and senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh had earlier said it was a mistake on part of the RJD to oppose the Bill in the Parliament and called for a rethink, following which leaders of JD-U and BJP promptly invited him to switch over.

Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan had also said that the upper caste leaders in the RJD would find it difficult to convince upper caste voters in the face of party’s opposition.

Bihar deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said that the anti-upper caste stand of the RJD was well known. “It was the only party that not only opposed it, but also voted against it both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. So, it was part of their well-planned strategy emerging from the party's mindset. It was RJD which did away with former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur 's provision of 3% quota for poor upper caste in 1992. So, the anti-upper caste stand of the RJD has been clear and consistent and we will not be surprised if it remains so,” he said.

Though leader of opposition Tejaswhi Prasad Yadav did not comment on Singh’s statement, he did reiterate Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha’s remarks in the House that it was a ‘mere jhoonjhunna’ (toy) offered to upper castes with an eye on polls. “We are not opposed to the quota Bill for upper castes. Rather, we are opposed to the provisions in it, viz. reservation for those having monthly income above ₹65,000,” he had said in an apparent damage control bid a few days ago in newly launched ‘Tejaswhi Ki Chaupal’ on Twitter.

Shaibal Gupta, political analyst and member secretary of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI), said that with elections round the corner, it would be difficult for the RJD to replicate the stand it took in Parliament. “Most of the parties will support it and there could be fissures within the GA, which has a sizeable number of upper caste leaders or those from areas having good presence of upper caste. Congress backed it in Parliament. HAM is also unlikely to oppose it,” he said.