RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pressing for reservation in a wide range of categories and stressing that the conduct of the caste census would merely mark the first step of the long journey towards social justice.

The letter obliquely revealed that the ruling BJP’s move to take the sting out of the Opposition’s caste census pitch could open a Pandora’s box. The Union cabinet last week decided to include caste enumeration in the next census, a demand that was raised by the Opposition, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

“The decision to conduct the caste census can be a transformative moment in our nation’s journey towards equality. The millions who have struggled for this census await not just data but dignity, not just enumeration but empowerment,” Tejashwi posted on X, attaching the letter and listing the demands.

“Reservation in the private sector, Reservation in contracts, Reservation in the judiciary, Proportional Reservation based on caste census data, Full implementation of pending Mandal Commission recommendations,” the list read.

The leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly underlined that while the Mandal Commission recommendations brought major changes in the early 1990s, several of its directives remained unimplemented.

Bihar goes to polls later this year and Tejashwi appeared to flag the issues in his letter to prepare his poll plank. Tejashwi said the census data must lead to a “comprehensive review of social protection and reservation policies”.

“The arbitrary cap of reservations will also have to be reconsidered,” he wrote, seeking to press for increasing the 50 per cent cap on reservations imposed by the Supreme Court. Rahul has also sought the removal of the cap.

Tejashwi stressed that “the private sector, which has been a major beneficiary of public resources, cannot remain insulated from social justice imperatives”.

“The context created by the caste census must be used to have open conversations about inclusivity and diversity in the private sector across organisational hierarchies,” he wrote.

Tejashwi then went to push for reservations in Parliament and state Assemblies for OBCs and EBCs after the delimitation of constituencies.