Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday called for party spokespersons to take the subject of caste census with sensitivity and fearlessly among the public and consider it not just an election issue, but also consider the ideological commitment.
Addressing the workshop organized for Congress spokespersons, Kharge said, “Today, when the country is talking about caste justice, it is the responsibility of the Congress party to give direction to this discussion, take it from the slogan to the policy and the ‘as much population, the right’ is not just a slogan, but made a national resolution.”
He called upon the spokespersons, “Friends, we all know that the issue of caste census is not new. The Congress party has taken it continuously, in our manifestos, in Parliament, on the streets and on every stage where there should be talk of social justice.
The Congress President said that he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2023, reiterating the demand that the caste census be started immediately, as until the right figures are not there, no government can claim that it is providing justice to everyone.
Kharge said, “Today we have to ask what is the participation of other backward classes (OBCs), Dalit and tribal communities in the country, institutions?” Do they represent their population in media, bureaucracy, judiciary, corporate sector and higher educational institutions in proportion to their population? If not, what is the reason for this? And what is the solution? ”
He said that this is the solution to bring out the truth, make the data public and then reconstruct the policies. The Congress President said, “This is why we do not consider caste census as only the exercise of data, but it is the moral responsibility of Indian democracy.”
He called upon the Congress spokespersons to strongly raise the demand that Article 15 (5) of the Constitution should be implemented immediately, which provides reservation in private educational institutions to OBCs, Dalits and tribal students.
Kharge said, “We also have to ensure that the 50 percent reservation limit is now revived in the light of new data. When social realities have changed and the figures are presenting a new picture, our policies should also change accordingly. The current border of reservation should be seen in terms of balance between both data and justice, so that OBCs, Dalits and tribal communities can get their real rights.
The Congress President said that the caste survey of Telangana introduced a model, in which society, expert and government were all involved. He said, “We want the central government to adopt a similar people and transparent models.” We are ready to cooperate in this process. ”
Kharge insisted, “All of you are the spokesperson of our party, the voice of our thoughts.” Today, when the country is becoming aware of the caste census, it is our responsibility to take this subject among the public with facts, sensitivity and fearlessly among the public. This is not only a battle of social justice, but also to protect the soul of the Constitution. “He said,” I appeal to you not to consider this campaign only as an election issue, this is our ideological commitment. Today’s dialogue is a proof of our solidarity in this direction. ”