What is the story about?
INDIA bloc will ensure reservation for extremely backward classes in private institutions and government contracts with over Rs 25 crore, Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi said in Bihar Wednesday. Speaking at the Ati Pichra Nyay Sankalp symposium in Patna, Rahul said that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc would end the 50 percent cap on reservations.
“Even today in this country, there are Extremely Backward Classes, Backward Classes, Dalits, tribals, and minorities, all of whom don’t receive the participation they deserve. The entire country recognises this truth. We want to conduct a caste census and show the true population of Dalits, Extremely Backward Classes, and Backward Classes in this country. The entire country should know the population of minorities, tribals, and the poor general castes. That is our ideology.”
Taking potshots at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rahul said that the JDU government only used the EBCs as a vote bank.
A ten-point resolution was also unveiled at the Nyay Sankalp symposium, with Rahul adding that it would implemented when the alliance comes to power in the state.
As per a post by the Congress on X, the resolution includes the following commitments:
- Passage of an ‘Extremely Backward Classes Atrocities Prevention Act’.
- Raising the reservation for EBCs in panchayats and urban local bodies from 20% to 30%.
- Amending the Constitution’s Ninth Schedule to allow lifting the 50% cap on reservations.
- Declaring the “Not Found Suitable” (NFS) provision in recruitment as invalid.
- Forming a committee to address under- or over-inclusion in the EBC list.
- Providing land to landless families — three decimals in urban areas and five decimals in rural areas.
- Allocating half of the reserved seats in private schools under the Right to Education Act (2010) to children from EBC, OBC, Dalit and tribal communities.
- Ensuring 50% reservation for EBCs, SCs, STs and OBCs in government contracts up to ₹25 crore.
Applying reservation in all private educational institutions under Article 15(5) of the Constitution.
- Establishing a high-powered regulatory authority to monitor reservation, with changes to the caste reservation list permitted only by the legislature.
"We seek a vision that goes beyond party politics. It is a vision for the 'Ati Pichhda Samaj.' The points which we have mentioned (in Ati Pichda Nyay Sankalp) are reservation and the formation of a dedicated committee to address concerns of under-inclusion," Rahul said, as per news agency PTI.
Bihar will hold its Assembly elections in October-November this year. Seat-sharing talks are underway currently between all leading parties on both sides.
Do you find this article useful?
