Congress leader Jairam Ramesh Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of double standards on reservation policies, highlighting the party’s differing approaches to the Bihar and Telangana reservation bills.
While Bihar’s 65 per cent reservation bill for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) was passed and implemented smoothly in 2023, the Telangana bill to increase reservations to 67 per cent for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes (BCs) has been pending for presidential assent for over four months.
The Bihar Assembly passed the bill on November 9, 2023, which was later approved by the Governor and became law on November 21, 2023.
Jairam Ramesh pointed out that the BJP didn’t create hurdles in Bihar, possibly due to the state’s social realities.
The Telangana Assembly passed the bill on March 17, 2025, but it has been stuck in limbo, awaiting presidential assent since March 30, 2025.
Jairam Ramesh accused the BJP of creating hurdles in Telangana, questioning the party’s commitment to social justice.
Jairam Ramesh emphasised that the Congress will take up issues of fundamental importance to social justice and empowerment in the monsoon session of Parliament.
He demanded that the government enable reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, and EBCs in private educational institutions and also overcome the 50 per cent ceiling for reservations imposed by Supreme Court judgments.
He also insisted that the government protect the reservation law from judicial scrutiny, as done by the Narasimha Rao government in 1994 for Tamil Nadu’s 69 per cent reservations.