Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today said the BJP was "fully in favour of reservations in outsourced services" and that the recent decision of the state cabinet to this effect was taken "unanimously" by the BJP-JD(U) government.
"The BJP is fully in favour of reservations in outsourced services. The decision has been taken unanimously by the BJP- JD(U) government. Payments are made to those working in outsourced services by the government. Hence, we will see to it that the quota system is strictly enforced," he said here in a statement.
The deputy chief minister's comments came a day after former Union minister and ex-state BJP chief C P Thakur opposed reservations in the outsourced services, saying the move could lead to a social unrest and a drop in investments in Bihar.
Sushil Modi also made it clear that "the BJP has never been in favour of introducing a creamy layer in the reservations for SCs and STs. Rather, the BJP government at the Centre has raised the limit for the creamy layer for even the OBCs from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, so that a greater number of those belonging to the backward classes could avail of the benefits".
Recently, some disgruntled leaders belonging to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) had floated a front to champion the Dalit cause and expressed fear that a move was afoot to introduce a creamy layer in the quotas for the scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs).
Lashing out at the Opposition in the state -- the RJD and the Congress -- Sushil Modi said, "They are only spreading misinformation with regard to the government's stance on reservations. The RJD and the Congress had opposed the Narendra Modi government's move to grant constitutional status to the backward classes commission."
Pointing out that the RJD-Congress combine ruled Bihar for 15 years, he alleged that the two parties deprived the SCs and STs of the reservation benefits by holding the panchayat polls without any quota.
"On the other hand, the BJP-JD(U) government introduced new quotas like a 20-per cent reservation for the extremely backward classes and a 50-per cent reservation for women. Reservations were also introduced in the recruitment of the State Auxiliary Police jawans," the BJP leader said.
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