Rattled by defeat, Congress mulls bringing quota in private sector

Addressing a press conference in the capital on Friday, party general secretary Mukul Wasnik indicated that the party was in favour of bringing in reservation for dalits, tribals and other Backward Castes (OBCs) in the private sector. Wasnik said that the party would have to take a call on the issue of reservation in private sector if the affirmative action plan being implemented so far does not get full backing of the business and industry. He cautioned the private sector that it will have to pay attention to the affirmative action effectively otherwise, the demand for reservation in the section will grow louder.

The comments came as the Congress launched its first round of discussions for preparation for the party’s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. On Friday, while addressing 235 representatives from Dalits, Tribals and OBCs and over 100 civil society organisations in a seventy-five minute interaction, the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said there was a need to ‘open up’ the political process by ensuring grass-root participation in policy making.

Gandhi said the political process is restricted to some 500-odd people. ‘It is a narrow elite, which constitutes the political establishment and each party is run by a narrower group,’ he added.