Nitish should initiate action on pvt sector quota, says Mayawati

Lucknow, Nov 7: A day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar raked up the issue of 50 per cent reservation in private sector, BSP supremo Mayawati said that instead of making "hollow statements", he should initiate action at his level.

"Those in alliance with the BJP in Bihar should ensure that reservation is given and not demanded. Mere hollow statements and cheap publicity on the matter will not suffice. The Bihar chief minister should initiate action at his level also," she said.

Her comments came against the backdrop of the Bihar chief minister favouring a 50 per cent reservation for backward classes in the private sector jobs and his suggestion for a national debate on it. "It's my opinion that there must be reservation in private sector too. There must be a debate on this at the national level," the Janata Dal-United leader had said yesterday. Nitish, whose JD-U is now a BJP ally, said there should not be any contract signed in the private sector unless the employers ensure the quota in their organisations.

Mayawati said BSP reiterates its demand of quota for Dalits, OBC in private sector and also the economically poor among the upper castes and Muslim community. She also demanded quota in promotions by amending the Constitution. Kumar had said though his government favoured reservations in the private sector "in-principle", it has to be done in Parliament in accordance with provisions of the Constitution.

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad too targeted Kumar over his remarks favouring reservation in the private sector, saying it was not a new idea and that the state has seen little private investment. Prasad, however, said his party is not against the idea of reservation in the private sector.

"We are also in favour of reservations in the private sector, but this is not a new demand. Mayawati had raised similar demands and so had Ram Vilas Paswan," the RJD supremo has said. While the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) had suggested enacting a law to make private firms set aside jobs for marginalised sections, the government earlier this year denied any move to introduce reservations in the private sector.

The NCBC had last year recommended that the government enact a law to make it mandatory for the private sector to reserve 27 per cent of jobs for OBCs, while Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has suggested that private sector voluntarily set aside jobs for SCs, STs and OBCs.

PTI