Bihar JDU, BJP leaders demand reservation for poor from upper castes

PATNA: Now, the demand to give reservation to poor from upper castes has come up from Bihar.

The upper caste leaders from Janata Dal-United (JDU) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have demanded reservation for the forward caste people who are economically worst than the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs /STs).

Industry and IT Minister Jai Kumar Singh, who belongs to JDU, said, "I am not against reservation to other castes but we demand reservation for those upper castes people who are really below the poverty line and living in the worst condition."

The Rajput MLA demanded the formation of a "Swarn Aayog" (Commission for the Upper Castes) by the Centre to provide reservation to the poor among the upper castes in the country.

BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Babloo also demanded reservation for upper castes.

"I am not opposing my Dalit brothers but now we also need the reservation. Our community is also poor," said Babloo, who is four-time MLA and belongs to the Rajput community.

Earlier also, he had raised his voice on Padmaavat issue and after that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had banned the movie in Bihar.

JDU spokesperson Sunil Singh also said now reservation is need of the hour for upper castes.

Bihar Rajya Swarn Aayog, which was set up by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2011, has not submitted any report or made recommendations for reservation to the poor among the upper castes.

It was tasked to look into the grievances of the poor among the upper castes and take steps for their socio-economic empowerment, including reservation, if necessary.