Nitish for Nishad, Nonia inclusion in ST category

As Bihar is set to witness the biggest poll battle of the year, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is trying to woo the most backward castes that account for 30 per cent of the state’s population.

The ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) government had announced the inclusion of Nishads (Mallah) and Nonias in the scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled Tribe (ST) categories at a cabinet meeting chaired on Saturday.

According to sources, the section of Nishad and Nonia is the most populous among the 130-odd economically backward castes (EBC) in the state.

Apart from the inclusion of these castes, around 24 more decisions were taken in the meeting.

Courtesy: The Statesman