Bihar elections: Congress ramps up reservation pitch ahead of PM Modi's visit; alleges NDA has ‘given up' on 65% quota push
File photo: Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh (Picture credit: PTI)
NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Bihar to launch key development projects ahead of assembly elections, the
Congress
on Friday sharpened its attack on the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, alleging that it has 'all but given up' on the proposed 65 per cent reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs and EBCs.
The policy, rooted in findings from the caste survey conducted under the erstwhile INDIA-bloc, is currently under judicial review.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, proposed a three-pronged legislative approach to safeguard the reservation framework. 'The double-engine Govt in Bihar has all but given up,' Ramesh claimed. 'But there are three ways out that the INC has been demanding for long that will make the 65 per cent reservations a reality,' he added.
Ramesh outlined the party's proposals. First, making the Bihar reservation law part of the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, as was done in 1994 by the Narasimha Rao government to protect Tamil Nadu's 69 per cent quota.
Second, he called for a constitutional amendment to bypass the Supreme Court-imposed 50 per cent ceiling on reservations. Third, he pushed for the implementation of Article 15(5), which allows for reservation in private educational institutions, a provision upheld by the apex court but left unimplemented for over a decade.
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'This has been unimplemented in the past 11 years after the Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional amendment introduced by Dr Manmohan Singh's government in 2006,' Ramesh pointed out. He further said the Congress would 'most definitely' raise these 'issues of fundamental importance to social justice and empowerment' during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament beginning July 21.
The remarks come as PM Modi is in Siwan, Bihar, where he is set to inaugurate multiple infrastructure projects, including the new Vaishali–Deoria railway line worth over Rs 400 crore and a new train service.
His visit also includes stops in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, with a mass yoga event scheduled in Bhubaneswar to mark International Yoga Day.
The Congress has increasingly tied its reservation pitch to the broader caste-based census framework, demanding immediate legislative action.
The move signals the party's intent to double down on social justice narratives ahead of the state polls due in October. Congress leaders have also linked their call for implementing Article 15(5) to the broader agenda of extending affirmative action into the private sector for marginalised communities.
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