<पी शैली="पाठ-संरेखण: औचित्य सिद्ध करें;">Before the Lok Sabha elections to be held in the year 2024, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is making one big move after another. Earlier he had given tension to other states and parties by conducting caste census. Now the bill related to increasing the limit of reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and backward classes in Bihar has got the approval of the Assembly. It was passed unanimously through voice vote.
The speed with which Nitish Kumar has made his moves before the Lok Sabha elections has stunned not only BJP but also other opposition parties. First of all, CM Nitish Kumar conducted a caste survey. BJP and other opposition parties were still busy in the caste census when CM Nitish released the report of the economic survey. Not only this, within a few days of the survey, the Chief Minister of Bihar called a cabinet meeting and announced to increase the reservation limit from 50 percent to 75 percent.
These three steps of CM Nitish Kumar are being considered as big bets before the Lok Sabha elections. With this move, Nitish Kumar has not only implicated the Bharatiya Janata Party but has also increased his stature in the Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance i.e. India Alliance.
Now who will get how much reservation?
In the bill, caste-based reservation has been increased from 50 percent to 65 percent. Apart from this, the benefit of 10 percent reservation will be available to those people who belong to economically backward class. After this decision of Nitish cabinet, now the reservation limit in Bihar is going to be 75 percent.
Who will get how much reservation?
Citing the bill, news agency PTI said that the existing reservation for STs will be doubled. Whereas for SC it will be increased from 16 percent to 20 percent.
Reservation for Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) will be increased from 18 percent to 25 percent and reservation for OBC will be increased from 12 percent to 15 percent. Let us tell you that people of these categories will get reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.
Nitish gave a big weapon to INDIA alliance
According to political analysts, Nitish has given a big weapon to the India Alliance in the Lok Sabha elections by taking big decisions like caste survey and increasing the reservation limit to 75 percent in the last few months. Which she can use in front of the public and to target BJP. Apart from this, leaving aside Yadavs, in the year 2014, a large section of other OBC castes and Scheduled Castes were voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party. A big reason for this is that the PM himself belongs to the OBC category.
While answering this question while talking to ABP, political expert Arun Kumar Pandey said that the issue of reservation is going to be a big issue in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Certainly Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav will benefit from increasing the reservation because both of them have been doing backward politics. The backward castes are getting special benefit from the reservations which have been increased after the caste census, but if we just talk about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it is not so easy.
Will Nitish’s move weaken BJP too much?
In response to this question, Arun Kumar Pandey says that there are many national issues in the Lok Sabha elections and if we talk about Bihar only, now backward-forward politics is not happening in this state like before. Backward versus backward politics is now going on in this state. Both Nitish and Lalu Prasad Yadav come from backward castes. Nitish Kumar has already gained advantage in the fight between the two in the last elections. But the 2014 Lok Sabha elections are going to be different because this time both have come together. On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party is also working to promote the backward classes in Bihar. In such a situation, it cannot be said that BJP will become very weak. However, in the Lok Sabha elections, the Grand Alliance may appear to be in a strong position in Bihar and there may be a close contest.
Political experts say that there are still six months left for the Lok Sabha elections in the country. In such a situation, the Bharatiya Janata Party will try to put aside the issue of reservation and raise some other issue in these six months, but Lok Sabha Elections The impact of the reservation issue is definitely going to be visible. He said that this is the reason why Congress has fully supported the issue of caste census and increasing reservation because the votes of upper castes have slipped from Congress.
What will happen to the Supreme Court’s limit of 50% with this reservation bill?
With the passing of the bill providing more than 50% caste reservation in Bihar, the 1992 decision of the Supreme Court has started being discussed. In fact, in the Indira Sahini judgment of 1992, the Supreme Court had set a limit of 50 percent on caste-based reservation in education and employment. But the big question is whether the state government can break the 50 percent barrier?
Supreme Court lawyer Virag Gupta, while talking to ABP, said that the Bihar government has the right to increase the limit of reservation, but in this regard, it is necessary to follow the orders of the Supreme Court with the consent of the Central Government. The decision of Bihar government will also require the approval of the Governor.
Virag Gupta further says – There is a need to conduct a survey on how much benefit of reservation has been received and how the provisions of the creamy layer should be implemented, after several decisions of the Supreme Court, but as per several instructions of the Supreme Court in this regard. The central government needs to take appropriate steps.
The 50 percent formula has been broken before too.
Manish Kumar, standing counsel of Bihar government in the Supreme Court, told ABP that this is not the first time that a state is breaking this 50 percent formula. Many governments have broken it in the past also. All the cases are currently in the Supreme Court.
He further said that when the court’s decision comes, we will also take further decisions, but at present implementing reservation cannot be called wrong.
Whereas Virag Gupta says – The issue of giving reservation by breaking the 50 percent barrier is increasing in the entire country. In the Indira Sawhney case, a bench of 9 judges had ruled in 1992 that you cannot break it. In such a situation, there may be a demand for formation of a constitution bench of 11 judges in the Supreme Court to reconsider this.