How Rahul Gandhi lit the spark of latest Bihar political row with comment on caste survey

When the caste survey was conducted, the Mahagathbandhan government, including the Congress and RJD, and led by the JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar, was successful power. The RJD, which has had its ups and downs with state Congress successful caller months, defended Gandhi saying helium meant to lone inquire wherefore the Bihar government’s November 2023 determination to rise the quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 50% to 65%. (effectively, the wide quota headdress became 75%, adding the 10% quota for economically weaker sections) was not included successful the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, which would person guarded it from ineligible scrutiny.

The summation successful quota was announced a period aft the results of the 2022 caste survey workout were made public. The survey showed that 36.1% of the colonisation of Bihar were EBCs and 19.65% were SCs. However, successful June 2024, the Patna High Court had acceptable speech the government’s notification raising the quota headdress successful authorities jobs and acquisition institutions.

The authorities Congress besides defended Gandhi. “What Rahul Gandhi ji meant to accidental is that the Nitish Kumar authorities has not been capable to get the Bihar quota hike determination into the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. Rahul ji’s angst against the Bihar caste survey was due to the fact that of discrepancies, specified arsenic names of respective radical being near out, and against Nitish Kumar who, contempt being a cardinal NDA ally, has not been capable to person the Centre for a nationwide caste survey. As for the Bihar BJP, it has nary motivation close to criticise Rahul ji’s remarks arsenic the BJP has been dormant against caste survey,” elder authorities Congress person Prem Chandra Mishra told The Indian Express.

RJD nationalist spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta said, “Rahul Gandhi’s connection should beryllium taken successful a broader sense. Based connected the survey findings, Nitish Kumar talked astir payment measures worthy Rs 2.5 lakh crore implicit 5 years. What happened to that promise? Second, with the quota raised scrapped by the Patna High Court, what stops the Bihar CM from pressuring the Narendra Modi authorities to enactment it successful the Ninth Schedule to supply ineligible cover?”

Targeting Gandhi for regularly making “irresponsible statements”, elder JD(U) person and Bihar curate Vijay Kumar Choudhary asked, “Did helium not cognize that the Congress had backed Bihar caste survey close from the beginning?” Another JD(U) person said the enactment had officially communicated to the PM astir putting the summation successful quota nether the Ninth Schedule.

BJP OBC Morcha’s nationalist wide caput Nikhil Anand said, “The Congress is an anti-OBC enactment and they person a discredited past erstwhile it comes to playing the authorities of societal justness of SCs, STs, and OBCs. Rahul Gandhi indispensable reply wherefore the Congress sabotaged the caste census of 2011 (a notation to the Socio-Economic Caste Census by the UPA government), wasting nationalist wealth of astir Rs 5,000 crore. Now, they are trying to play the authorities of societal justness with the volition of cornering parties specified arsenic the Samajwadi Party, RJD, Bahujan Samaj Party and the DMK for survival. Decisions specified arsenic giving Constitutional presumption to the NCBC, preservation to OBCs successful NEET, a superior task money for OBCs, and Bharat Ratna to Karpoori Thakur ji person proved that PM Narendra Modi ji is the caller messiah of societal justness successful India.”