RJD manifesto promises reservation in pvt sector, judiciary

The opposition RJD Monday released its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls promising introduction of reservations in higher judiciary as well as the private sector besides ensuring that quotas extended to SCs, STs, OBCs and EBCs was made proportionate to their population.

Released by RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav here and titled "pratibaddhata patra" (a letter of commitments), the manifesto was, however, promptly dismissed by Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who asserted that the document was inconsequential in view of the very few number of Lok Sabha seats being contested by the party.

The manifesto released at the partys state headquarters in presence of national spokesman and Rajya Sabha member Manoj Jha and state unit chief Ram Chandra Purve and Yadav who is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly made it clear that his party "fully supports" the poll promises of the Congress which is its ally.

The Congress manifesto released last week has been at the centre of a controversy with the BJP-led NDA claiming that promises made therein like review of the sedition law were potentially "dangerous".

Yadav, who is the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasads younger son, said his party was committed to introducing reservations in the private sector and the judiciary besides setting up of a national judicial commission which would be entrusted with appointment of judges in the higher courts, doing away with the current system of collegium.

Yadav said his party would press for a comprehensive caste-based census in 2020-21 so that fresh figures of population of different social groups SCs, STs, OBCs and EBCs was available and quotas provided to each of these in proportion.

Defending his partys demand for proportionate reservations, implementation of which could require exceeding the 50 per cent cap set by the Supreme Court, Yadav said "the ceiling has already been broken by the Narendra Modi government by introducing 10 per cent quotas for economically weaker sections among the unreserved categories."
He declined to take queries about the ongoing tussle between him and his elder brother Tej Pratap Yadav, saying "todays press conference has been called only for the manifesto."