Upper castes demand 25 per cent reservation in govt services

Biharsharif, Jul 28 (UNI) 'S-4', an organisation of upper castes in Bihar, today demanded 25 per cent reservation for this section of the society in government services.

The organisation alleged that the socio-economic condition of the upper castes had deteriorated during the past few years and many of them were leading life similar to the SC-STs.

The delegates from all 243 Assembly Constituencies in the State participated in the three-day session, S-4 co-ordination committee member Sanjay Verma said.

Addressing the session, Mr Verma said the upper castes in Bihar comprised 25 per cent of the State's total population and had every right to get reservation in government services.

He alleged that the wrong reservation policies of successive governments in the State and Centre had deteriorated the condition of upper castes and the situation would become alarming if remedial measures were not taken immediately.

''Provision of reservation in local bodies election should be removed,'' Mr Verma demanded adding that a system of land leasing should be introduced.

A detailed plan for the development of the State should be prepared after taking the importance of the agricultural sector into consideration as majority of population was still dependent on agriculture for livelihood, he said.

Free electricity and interest-free loans should be provided to farmers, he added.

UNI