Agartala, September 22: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has put forth key demands, including the call for a caste-based census and an expansion of the current reservation limits for scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, and other backward classes before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Sudip Roy Barman, a CWC member and former Tripura Minister, made these announcements today.
Additionally, Roy Barman emphasized the CWC’s push for the implementation of the women’s reservation Bill from 2024, with specific representation for SC, ST, and OBC communities.
These resolutions were formally adopted during a recent two-day CWC meeting held in Hyderabad.
Discussing the CWC meeting, during a press conference at Congress Bhawan in Agartala, the Congress legislator and CWC member, highlighted the central government led by Narendra Modi’s refusal to implement or conduct a caste census.
“In the CWC meeting, we passed resolutions to conduct a caste-based census and to expand the current reservation limits for SC, ST, and OBC,” stated Roy Barman.
He pointed out that this refusal to conduct a caste census, despite widespread demand, reveals the BJP’s lack of commitment to social and economic justice and its apparent bias against backward classes, Dalits, and tribal communities. In response, the CWC is advocating for an increase in the upper limits of reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and OBCs, as detailed in the CWC resolution.
Roy Barman also mentioned that the previous central government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2011, had announced its intention to conduct a caste census after considering suggestions from various political parties. This marked a significant shift as caste-based census had been discontinued as a policy post-Independence, with the last such census conducted in 1931.
The first caste-based census in 2011 was initiated in Shankhola village under the Hezamara block in the West district.
