Ati Pichhda Nyay Sankalp: INDIAN Bloc reaches out to extremely backward classes ahead of Bihar elections

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has reached out to the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) of Bihar, promising, among other things, a Protection Against Atrocities Act, on the lines of the SC/ST Act, if the INDIA bloc comes to power in the state.

Gandhi’s aggressive move for the EBC, days before the Assembly elections were announced, took place at an event titled ‘Ati Pichhda Nyay Sankalp’.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, who was in Patna to attend the Congress Working Committee meeting, came to the event along with party national president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Gandhi read out the 10 resolutions which promised the welfare of EBCs in particular and backward castes including SCs, STs and OBCs in general.

EBCs, according to the caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar government a few years ago, constitute 36% of the total population of the state.

The 10 resolutions are:

1. A protection against atrocities law, modeled on the SC/ST law.
2. An increase in quotas for EBCs in local bodies and panchayats from the current 20% to 30%.
3. To increase the reservation ceiling by 50 per cent based on the population proportion, the law passed by the Legislative Assembly will be sent to the Center for inclusion in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
4. For government contracts/supply works up to ₹25 crore, 50% reservation will be provided for ati pichda, SCs, STs and backward classes.
5. Reservation for admission in all private educational institutions in the State shall be implemented in accordance with Article 15(5) of the Constitution.
6. Land allocation: 3 decimal places in urban areas and 5 decimal places in rural areas for landless families from disadvantaged castes.
7. The notion of “not found suitable” (NFS) in the selection process for appointments will be declared illegal.
8. All issues related to under-registration or over-registration in the ati pichda category list will be resolved through the formation of a dedicated committee.
9. Under the Right to Education Act, 2010, passed by the UPA government, half of the reserved seats in private schools will be allocated to children of ati pichda, backward classes, SCs and STs.
10. A high-authority regulatory body will be formed to oversee reservations, and any changes to caste reservation lists will be possible only with the permission of the legislative assembly.