The AJSU party, junior ally of the BJP-led government in Jharkhand, today sought incorporating in the Ninth Schedule a 2001 committee report that recommended 73 per cent reservation for people of ST, SC, OBC and BC.
"Our party's Central Committee felt the need for the increase in the reservation in Jharkhand on the basis of the 2001 committee report that recommended 32 per cent to ST, 18 per cent to OBC, nine per cent to BC and 14 per cent to SC," party president Sudesh Mahto told a press conference here.
The Babulal Marandi-headed BJP government in Jharkhand had formed the committee.
"Steps may be taken to include these recommendations in the Ninth Schedule," said Mahto, a former deputy Chief Minister who lost the 2014 Assembly polls for the first time from Silli constituency since 1995.
Mahto said the committee had submitted the report on November 29, 2001 and he was one of its members. Arjun Munda, the then Welfare Minister, and former ministers Ramjilal Sharda, Ramchandra Kesari and Lalchand Mahto were other members.
The committee had been set up to look into the existing quotas of ST (14 per cent), SC (10 per cent), OBC (14 per cent), BC (10 per cent) and BC women (two per cent).
Mahto's demand comes a week after the National Commission for Schedule Castes Chairperson, P L Punia, had said the Jharkhand government should ensure reservation to the people under the SC category in proportion to its population.
Punia said Jharkhand has 12.09 per cent SC population while reservation is covered to only 10 per cent.
