Bengaluru, July 15 (IANS) The Other Backward Communities (OBC) Advisory Committee meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) began in Bengaluru late on Tuesday at Indira Bhavan, located in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, AICC OBC Cell Chief Anil Jaihind, and Congress representatives from across India are participating in the two-day meeting.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Union Minister M. Veerappa Moily, speaking to the media before attending the meeting, said, “I think this is the right time for the main opposition party—the Congress — to launch a campaign demanding that the Central government expedite the caste enumeration process.”

“We are deliberating on the steps to be taken. We will also discuss how to push for caste enumeration alongside the national census. Our discussions will focus on the necessary steps in this regard,” Moily added.

He also said, “The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has made his stance very clear. Wherever he goes, he speaks about the need for caste enumeration along with the national census. After this, the NDA and the Prime Minister took the position that such a move is not possible and claimed it would divide the country.”

He added that before the Supreme Court, the NDA government said that it cannot undertake caste enumeration alongside the national census.

“They have already delayed the national census, which should have been conducted in 2021. It’s now 2025, and even now, no steps have been taken. Therefore, the Congress party must launch a campaign,” he asserted.

The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, will be held on July 15 and 16.

It aims to consolidate OBC communities across the country in support of the Congress.

–IANS

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