Tejashwi unveils ‘quota master plan’

Patna: Days after the Narendra Modi-led govt at the Centre sought to blunt the opposition's call for a nationwide caste census by announcing that caste enumeration would be included in the next census, leader of opposition in the Bihar assembly, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, on Friday unveiled a sweeping "reservation master plan" that analysts believe could stir political upheaval.
Widely seen as a counter to the Centre's strategic move, Tejashwi's plan is poised to reshape the discourse on social justice ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections as parties compete to win over various social groups.
As head of the Grand Alliance's coordination committee and leader of the opposition's poll campaign, Tejashwi revealed his party's road map via social media on Friday. He laid out ambitious measures aimed at improving the representation and participation of backward and extremely backward classes (EBCs) in various sectors. According to the recent Bihar caste survey, OBCs and EBCs together constitute over 63% of the state's population, a figure significant enough to sway electoral outcomes.
The key proposals in his "reservation master plan" include extending reservation to OBCs and EBCs in Parliament and state assemblies, akin to existing quotas for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. He also called for reservation in the judiciary, private sector, and govt contracts, alongside full implementation of the Mandal Commission's recommendations. He demanded quotas for deprived classes in proportion to their population, as well as special category status for Bihar.
"The caste census is just the beginning, the picture is yet to come," Tejashwi wrote in his post, adding that he would compel the govt to grant the community its due. He added that opponents initially criticise their ideas, only to eventually co-opt them. "They adopt our agendas as their own masterstroke," Tejashwi said.
Speaking later to journalists in Jamui, Tejashwi mocked the NDA for announcing the caste census. "For the past several months, PM Narendra Modi spoke only of four castes, the poor, the youth, women and farmers, while the RSS accused us of sowing caste-based divisions by demanding a caste census. But now, they themselves have agreed to conduct one. They must explain to the nation what forced them to change their stance," he said.
Accusing the NDA govt of treating Bihar unfairly, he claimed the state had received nothing beyond hollow promises. "Also, the Union as well as the state budgets have nothing to offer to the socially backward communities identified in the Bihar caste survey," Tejashwi alleged.