Sat May 03 04:50:40 UTC 2025: **Bihar Opposition Leader Demands Caste-Based Reservations Following Government’s Census Announcement**
PATNA, Bihar – Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Bihar’s Leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement sweeping caste-based reservations following the government’s recent announcement of a caste census. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Yadav called the census a “historic decision” but stressed the need for concrete action to address social inequalities.
Yadav’s demands include reservations in the private sector, the judiciary, and proportional representation based on the upcoming census data. He also pushed for the full implementation of pending recommendations from the Mandal Commission. He criticized the previous NDA government’s resistance to a caste census, highlighting the obstacles faced by Bihar during its own state-level survey.
The RJD leader argued that the Bihar caste survey, which revealed that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) comprise approximately 63% of the state’s population, should serve as a model for nationwide reform. He believes the census data should inform a comprehensive review of social protection and reservation policies, including reconsidering the existing cap on reservations.
Yadav further advocated for the use of census data in the upcoming delimitation exercise to ensure adequate political representation for OBCs and EBCs. He emphasized the private sector’s responsibility to reflect the nation’s social composition, given the benefits it receives from public resources. He called for open discussions on inclusivity and diversity within private sector organizations.
While welcoming the census, Yadav cautioned against allowing the data to remain unused, urging the government to utilize the findings for genuine social transformation and empowerment of disadvantaged communities. He pledged constructive cooperation in this process.
First Piper 