Bihar awaiting legal opinion to implement upper caste quota: Nitish

Nitish Kumar said he was in favour of treating the extremely backward classes among the OBCs as a separate category at the national-level

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday announced that his government will implement quotas for the economically-backward among the unreserved category after getting a legal opinion about the appropriate modalities.

Kumar said legal opinion was being sought as to whether the new quotas, which have been introduced through a recent constitutional amendment and are in addition to the existing reservations, could be brought about in the state through an executive order or an Act passed in the legislature.

The JD(U) national president also said we are bound by the Supreme Court judgement, which has placed a cap of 50 per cent on the quotas for the socially and educationally backward, but added that he supported the demand for raising the limit to make reservations proportionate to the population of the respective caste groups.

Kumar was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of his weekly 'Lok Samvad' (public interaction) programme in Patna.

"But opposition parties which are raising the demand have no idea on how to go about it. In my view, there should be a fresh census wherein the respective populations of social segments like SCs, STs and OBCs is taken into account. Based on its report, the nation can move towards ensuring proportional representation for the various castes," he added.

He said he was in favour of treating the extremely backward classes among the OBCs as a separate category at the national-level.

"In Bihar we have done that. I understand that a committee has been set up at the Centre for similar classification of backward classes nationally," Kumar added.