An umbrella organisation of backward classes outfits, representing the interest of other backward classes (OBC), called on Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday and announced its “unconditional support” to the INDIA bloc.
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Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi was also present at the meeting that took place in Mr. Kharge’s official residence.
The leaders of the grand alliance of backward organisations or ‘OBC Bhartiya Gathbandhan’ was led by its chairman and former MP Rajkumar Saini.
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Interestingly, the development comes a day after senior leader and Congress Working Committee member Anand Sharma’s letter to Mr. Kharge surfaced in the public domain.
In the letter, Mr. Sharma had questioned the Congress’ promise to hold caste census and pointed out that it could be construed as “disrespecting the legacy of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi” who didn’t endorse the politics of caste.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Gandhi reiterated his stance that a nationwide caste census was essential to ensure that communities get their fair share in governance in proportion to their numbers in the society.
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Speaking to reporters, Mr. Saini said various organisations had been raising the same demand for a long time.
He said Mr. Gandhi had already stated the party’s stance on the fair share in the decision-making process and social justice. That was why they decided to support him and carry forward the fight together with the Congress..
Mr. Kharge thanked the ‘grand alliance’ for its unconditional support.
Earlier, Congress general secretary Deepak Babaria, who played a key role in getting these organisations to support the party, claimed that there was unanimity among the OBC organisations to support the Congress and the INDIA bloc to ensure social justice.