Bihar LoP Tejashwi Yadav. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) National Working President Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) asked National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders to pressurise the Centre to include Bihar’s 75% reservation quota in the Ninth Schedule.
Addressing the media at his official residence in Patna, Mr. Yadav said that leaders like Jitan Ram Manjhi of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), Chirag Paswan of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United), and Upendra Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) are not serious about increasing reservation in Bihar.
He asserted that by seeking a review of reservations, they are strengthening the ideologies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS.
“The Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar had conducted a caste survey and raised the reservation limit for Backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes, Dalits, and Adivasis to 65%. A proposal was sent to the Central Government to include this—along with the 10% Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota, bringing the total to 75% reservation—in the Ninth Schedule. However, NDA leaders failed to pressure the Centre on this matter, resulting in the reversal of the increased reservation limit,”Mr. Yadav said.
In June 2024, the Patna High Court had set aside the amendments passed by the Bihar legislature in 20023 to increase the reservation of Backward Classes (BC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) from 50% to 65 % in educational institutions and government jobs.
The Bihar Assembly on November 9, 2023, unanimously passed a Bill to increase the reservation for BC, EBC, SC, and ST from the existing 50% to 65%. Together with the 10% EWS quota, the Bill had pushed reservation in Bihar to 75%, well past the 50% ceiling set by the Supreme Court.
He alleged that if anyone is to blame for this, it is NDA leaders. He added that RJD repeatedly urged the government to raise the reservation limit from 75% to 85% and include it in the Ninth Schedule, but NDA leaders ignored it. Mr. Yadav also alleged that NDA leaders have started talking about reviewing reservation to appease the BJP and RSS.
The RJD leader also slammed the Bihar government over alleged police brutality against the common man. He accused the government of adopting a policy to wrongly frame people in fake cases, including a false FIR against journalists who refuse to write in favour of the government.
Sitting with a YouTuber from Vaishali district, Mr. Yadav briefed about an incident of August 29, 2026, involving the YouTuber who was allegedly tortured by the police in a fake case
Mr. Yadav said, “It happened because he had reported the truth in Patepur. It is the constituency of a Bihar government minister, Lakhendra Paswan, and the true reporting made him furious, leading to pressure on the police station to frame the journalist.”
Kundan Kumar also pulled down his trousers to show his injuries to the media. He alleged that the police picked him up from his house on the instructions of the Minister and beat him mercilessly with more than 50 batons. He also spoke about the ordeal and alleged police harassment.
The RJD leader said he will not allow Bihar to turn into a police state under any circumstances. He demanded action against the responsible police officers.
Published – September 02, 2026 03:40 am IST
