50% reservation for backward, women and minority in Congress

NEW DELHI: The Congress has decided to give 50 percent reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities, and Women.

The Congress on Saturday amended the party's constitution to ensure 50 per cent reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, women and minorities in all party posts, including representatives at the state level (PCC) and national level (AICC).

Chairing a committee at the party's convention, senior party leader former Union Minister Ambika Soni proposed the amendment to this constitution.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala termed the move as a 'beginning of social justice' and said that the Ambika Soni-led committee has taken measures ranging from the Congress Working Committee for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities and Women. 50 per cent reservation in all party posts from PCC representatives to AICC representatives were proposed.

Along with this, the committee has decided to increase the strength of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest body of the party, from 23 to 35. It proposed to make party membership paperless and record, mandatory introduction of mother's and wife's name in membership documents and automatic promotion of elected representatives of Panchayat Raj Institutions and Cooperative Societies as PCC representatives. He said that these proposals were accepted unanimously.

Surjewala and Soni claimed that the amendments to include more people from across the board were inspired by Rahul Gandhi who saw the need for such a move during his Bharat Jodo Yatra.