Patna Sees Large Protest Seeking 65% Reservation, Seven Held

Hundreds of demonstrators from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Class (OBC) organisations marched through Patna on Tuesday, pressing the state government to restore a 65% reservation ceiling in place of the current 50%.

The protest was organised under the banner of the Aarakshan Badhao Samvidhan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and led by Dalit rights activist Amar Paswan Azad. Police detained seven protesters during the march, who were later released.

The demand stems from a 2024 Patna High Court ruling that declared the enhanced quota unconstitutional. The Bihar government, under former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, had raised the ceiling to 65% following the Bihar Caste-based Survey report of 2022-23. The Supreme Court subsequently refused to stay the High Court's decision.

Currently, Bihar provides 16% reservation for Scheduled Castes, 1% for Scheduled Tribes, 18% for Extremely Backward Classes, 12% for Other Backward Classes, and 3% for Backward Class women.

Speaking to reporters, Azad outlined two primary demands: placing the 65% quota decision in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to grant it legal immunity, and introducing reservation in the private sector.

The marchers also called for an end to the diversion of SC/ST sub-plan funds, a halt to bulldozer action against Dalit homes, action against atrocities on Dalits, 50% reservation in contractual works, and reservation in promotions for SC/ST employees.

In anticipation of the protest's scale, police deployed personnel from over 20 police stations. The march, which began at Gandhi Maidan and was headed towards Raj Bhavan, was halted at Dak Bungalow Chowk where authorities had erected makeshift iron gates and barriers.