Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said backward classes should receive 50 per cent reservation in the private sector, as well, India Today reported.

“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 said, news agency ANI reported.

Nitish also supported the demand of reservation for Patidars in Gujarat. “I am still in favour of reservation to Patidars. Once I take a stand on any issue, I don’t change my stand,” the Bihar CM said, reported The Times of India.

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The Patels’ demand has led to the community turning on the ruling BJP in Gujarat after supporting it for decades.

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, reported India Today.

BJP leader Hukumdev Narayan welcomed Kumar’s proposal.

Last week, Bihar cabinet introduced quota in outsourced services, which faced some criticism from many quarters, including Nitish’s own party leader Uday Narayan Choudhary. However, the Bihar CM, on Monday, defended the move and clarified it further.

“If you’re using government money and giving employment, then you have to follow the Reservation Act of the state,” the Chief Minister said today. “Although I am opposed to outsourcing, and the department should hire directly, we have made rules that if you are employing someone through outsourcing, then reservation policies should be followed,” he said, reported NDTV.

Expectedly, many on Twitter were critical of the Bihar CM’s move:

According to India Today, 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 recommended that the Centre enact a law to make it mandatory for the private sector to reserve 27 per cent of jobs for other backward classes (OBCs), reported The Times of India.

As per law reservation is provided to members of SC, ST, OBC, physically disabled persons, members of religious and ethnic minorities and more for benefits in education, jobs, healthcare, etc. However, it isn’t mandatory for private entities to provide reservations unless they are formed on particular sections of the law that make it mandatory.