CPI-M demands quota for SC, ST in private sector

Visakhapatnam: The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Thursday demanded reservations for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the private sector and a legislation to prevent discrimination in allocation of resources for these sections of the society.

The CPI-M at its 21st Congress here passed a resolution to this effect.

Briefing reporters on the proceedings of the Congress on the third day on Thursday, party leader Brinda Karat said there should be extension of constitutional requirement of reservation to all sectors of employment as a large area of employment is out of the purview of reservation.

"In the new liberal framework with ban on recruitment, with outsourcing and with contractualisation etc. in central government and public sector undertakings, the constitutional requirement for reservations has been subverted," she said.

The resolution noted that the Modi government has further cut allocations for the Scheduled Caste Special Component Plan (SCSCP) and the shortfall is as high as Rs.46,385 crore.

"The shortfall in allocations for the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) is an equally shocking figure, Rs.20,000 crore. Thus, while the population of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes as a proportion of the total population is around 25 percent, the share of allocations to the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, which were at an all-time low this year, was just 10 percent," it said.

The party demanded that allocations for the SCSCP and the TSP should be made mandatory through an appropriate law.

By another resolution, the party demanded implementation of reports of various committees for the development of minorities.

These include the recommendations made by the Sachar Committee and the Ranganath Mishra Commission, and, more recently, the recommendations of the Evaluation Committee headed by Professor Amitabh Kundu.

It said the recommendations of the Kundu Committee and the Ranganath Mishra Commission, including on the issue of reservations for minority communities, should be accepted and implemented.

Brinda Karat said the party condemned attacks on minorities. "Absolutely outrageous statements like the demands for an end to voting rights of Muslims are leading to even more insecurity," she said.

In the 2015-16 Budget, the allocation for development projects for minority communities constitutes an abysmal 0.23 per cent of the total allocations. This paltry amount makes a mockery of the democratic requirement that urgent steps be taken to address the serious problems of the Muslim minority that were exposed by the Sachar Committee, the resolution said.

The party demanded that a minority sub-plan be put in place to ensure that funds commensurate with their share in the population are made available for the all-round development of minorities.

The party also demanded that the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill should be tabled in parliament, while taking into account federal concerns.