OBC quota in Parliament, pvt sector; Social Justice Ayog among Congress sub-committee proposals for Plenary resolution

Establishing a Social Justice Ayog on the lines of Niti Aayog, quota for OBCs in Parliament and Assemblies, reservation regime in private jobs as well as higher judiciary and Rohit Vemula Act to protect SC-ST students against discrimination are among a slew of recommendations of a Congress sub-group to be included in a Plenary resolution.

A decision on inclusion of recommendations of the Social Justice and Empowerment sub-committee headed by Mukul Wasnik and K Raju will be taken by the Subjects Committee when it meets in Raipur on February 24 after the Jairam Ramesh-led Drafting Committee goes through it.

Interestingly, the sub-group has repeated suggestions for reserving seats for OBCs in Assemblies and Parliament through a Constitutional amendment as well as guaranteeing quota for OBCs, Dalits and tribals in private sector through a law were rejected by the Congress Working Committee when it was suggested during Udaipur Chintan Shivir.

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The draft proposals prepared by the sub-group pledges “strengthening institutional architecture”, “new policy package”, “political empowerment” and “sampoorna samaji suraksha” (complete social security)”.

The sub-group has recommended a National Council for Social Justice to review the progress and gaps in implementing social security programmes.

The proposed ‘Social Justice Ayog’ could undertake periodical surveys to study inequities and comprehensively map the social-economic and political status of the SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women and publish a Social Justice Survey Report on the lines of Economic Survey. This survey could be prepared by the Chief Advisor on Social Justice, a new post on the lines of Chief Economic Advisor.

A Social Justice Fund is another recommendation at a time the government has cut budget allocation for scholarships for the deprived section. An urban job guarantee scheme on the lines of MGNREGA as well as social security for unorganised sector workers, including gig workers are also recommended.

The sub-group believes that the Congress should “strongly consider” reservations for OBCs, Dalits and tribals in higher judiciary.

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Creating a separate ministry for the welfare of OBCs, filling vacancies, caste census along with decennial census and a legislation to ensure budget provisions as per population proportion and a separate development fund for OBCs are also being proposed.

The recommendations have also reiterated that Congress is committed to pass a legislation guaranteeing 33 per cent quota for women with a quota-within-quota for OBCs, SCs and STs, which is part of the Udaipur Declaration also.

Benefitting OBC, SC and ST as well as women entrepreneurs, it has suggested that the party should commit to the implementation of a Public Procurement Policy in which these sections have quotas in procurement and contracts for up to Rs 1 crore.