In a bid to avoid division among the progressive social forces of the country, Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav is all set to initiate a move to end the ongoing confrontation over quota for SC/STs in promotions.
According to party sources, Yadav will try to convince pro-Mandal forces that this confrontation is not in the interests of social justice.
The sources said Yadav believes that the outcome of this confrontation may take post-Mandal changes, which led to the empowerment of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), to retrogressive direction. They say he is worried over the fact that it may affect social equations that have emerged in the country, particularly in North India, after the post-Mandal commission report.
Yadav’s move is in consonance with the view of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who favours quota for SC/STs in promotions. The chief minister has already implemented the quota in Bihar and ushered in social engineering benefitting the Scheduled Castes and OBC’s.