Congress' big plans on caste census issue, to hold nationwid
Congress' big plans on caste census issue, to hold nationwide rallies
The Congress party has asked its leaders to aggressively take up the caste census issue during the ‘Samvidhan Bachao (Save the Constitution)’ rallies in the country
NEW DELHI — The Congress party has asked its leaders to aggressively take up
the caste census issue during the ‘Samvidhan Bachao (Save the Constitution)’
rallies in the country.
Congress has been holding the Samvidhan Bachao rallies in
all the states across the nation since April 25, and now wants its leaders to
take up the CWC resolutions on the caste census also.
The party on Saturday issued a circular, named
"Implementation of CWC Resolution on Caste Census – during the Scheduled
Samvidhan Bachao Rallies" to its state chiefs, Congress legislature party
leaders, general secretaries, secretaries and all of its frontal organisations.
The circular issued by party general secretary K.C.
Venugopal said that after “sustained and principled pressure from the Indian
National Congress, the Modi Government, which had long ridiculed, delayed, and
dismissed the demand, has now been compelled to accept the genuine and
democratic call for a caste-wise census”.
It said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had
formally written to the Prime Minister on the issue, reiterating the party’s
demand for an updated and comprehensive caste census. Rahul Gandhi has also
firmly asserted that social justice requires a caste census.
On May 2, the Congress Working Committee held detailed
deliberations on the issue of the caste census.
The CWC Resolution passed in this meeting demanded:
immediate implementation of Article 15(5) of the Constitution to enable
reservations for OBCs, Dalits, and Adivasis in private educational
institutions; the caste census be conducted without delay, avoiding any pretext
or bureaucratic evasion; a transparent, time-bound process, including immediate
Parliamentary debate and full budgetary allocation; a participatory and
inclusive approach in designing the questionnaire, enumeration, classification,
and publication of data; and the use of updated caste data to review and strengthen
policies on reservation, education, employment, and targeted welfare.
The party has also listed action points for its state chiefs
-- to raise this demand "vocally and visibly" in the upcoming
Samvidhan Bachao Rallies scheduled to be held across all states and districts.
It has also asked the party cadre to particularly demand the
immediate implementation of Article 15(5), also constitute state-level control
rooms under the PCCs to monitor implementation, and to appoint dedicated
observers at the district level to oversee and coordinate all activities and
reporting.
The party has asked its leader to undertake activities
during the Assembly-level Samvidhan Bachao rallies and house-to-house campaigns
scheduled till May 30.
These include: organising Chaupal meetings with active
participation from social activists, civil society activists, teachers,
lawyers, shopkeepers, SHG members, and Bahujan communities; disseminating the
Congress Party’s historical and ongoing commitments at the grassroots level,
including the leadership role played by Rahul Gandhi; exposing the BJP’s
anti-Bahujan ideology, its resistance to caste enumeration, and its efforts to
suppress social justice; mobilising broad-based public support for the caste census
and full implementation of Article 15(5).
It has also asked the party leaders to hold state-wise press
conferences in each Assembly constituency, with regular media briefings at the
Assembly level, coordinated with the AICC Communication Department. All PCCs
must work closely with the AICC Social Media Department to ensure that party
workers, youth leaders, and elected representatives actively post on all
platforms, amplifying -- the Congress Party’s demand for a caste census, the
leadership role of Rahul Gandhi and the CWC resolution, and the BJP’s record of
caste denial and anti-Bahujan actions.
Venugopal has also asked the leaders to treat this campaign
with top priority and submit weekly reports on the progress of each action
point.
Recently, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central
government gave its nod to conduct a caste census in the upcoming national
enumeration.
