Congress holds OBC workers' camp in Mumbai, releases book on Mandal and Manuvad
Congress leaders spoke on the caste census, social representation and reservation at an OBC workers' training camp at Tilak Bhavan in Mumbai.
An OBC workers' training camp was held at the Congress headquarters, Tilak Bhavan, in Mumbai. The book 'Mandal Virudh Manuvad' was also released at the event. Congress leaders spoke on the caste census, social representation and reservation.
Congress in-charge Dr Sirivella Prasad said every community should get representation in proportion to its population. He claimed that Rahul Gandhi had raised the caste census issue continuously and that the Union government then announced a decision on it.
According to Prasad, the caste system caused conflict among different castes in society. He alleged that the OBC community was given a second-class place in the social order and said this system needed to change. He said each community could get proportionate representation only after its true population was known, and that a caste census was necessary for this.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal criticised the state government over reservation demands in Maharashtra. He said it was necessary to raise the 50 per cent cap on reservation and to conduct a caste census.
Sapkal said several communities in Maharashtra were agitating for reservation. In such a situation, he alleged, conflict was developing between the Maratha and OBC communities. He criticised the state government's policies for this.
Vijay Wadettiwar, the Congress leader in the legislature, spoke on the issue of OBC reservation. He claimed that Rahul Gandhi had raised his voice for the rights of OBCs, and mentioned the caste census.
Wadettiwar said the Mandal Commission had recommended 27 per cent reservation for the OBC community. According to him, this reservation, based on social and educational backwardness, is important for representation in government jobs.
Prof Yashpal Bhinge, state president of the OBC department, spoke of the contribution of B. P. Mandal, former chairman of the Mandal Commission. He said the commission had recommended 27 per cent reservation for the OBC community on the basis of data.
Bhinge said the OBC community should not remain merely a vote-giving section but should become a community that leads. According to him, the pledge 'Har ek OBC, banega Congressi' (every OBC will become a Congressman) has been taken for this. Prof Bhinge also made clear that the book 'Mandal Virudh Manuvad' was written so that ordinary Congress workers can understand the subject easily.
