Bihar minister ridicules Tejashwi over caste reservation issue

Patna, Sep 3 (PTI) ) A key aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday ridiculed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for pressing his demand that the state's amended reservation laws which ceased to exist after being struck down by the Patna High Court be put in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.

Senior minister in Kumar's cabinet and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary also pointed out that the state government has already approached the Supreme Court against the Patna High Court's decision to strike down the increase in reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes from 50 per cent to 65 per cent.

He wondered what Yadav, the former deputy CM and now the opposition leader, tried to achieve by staging a dharna on the issue on September 1.

"Yadav is simply pretending to be sympathetic towards those affected by the high court's decision. Yes, it's a sheer pretension...he is demanding the inclusion of the state law in the 9th schedule. The amended laws ceased to exist after HC's order," Chaudhary told reporters.

He also claimed that the chief minister had insisted on a caste survey in the state.

Chaudhary alleged that the RJD leader was "simply misleading people over the issue".

"The Bihar government, headed by Nitish Ji, increased the reservation from 50 per cent to 65 per cent on the basis of the caste survey report. People know that CM himself had urged the Centre to put the state's amended reservation laws in the 9th schedule of the Constitution," the JD(U) leader said.

The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution includes a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts.

"Again on the instructions of our CM, who is genuinely concerned about the uplift of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and backward classes, the state government approached the SC challenging the Patna HC decision.

"We have faith in the judiciary and are hopeful that the SC will restore the amended reservation laws which ceased to exist," Chaudhary said. PTI PKD BDC