Surjewala seeks to woo backward communities to Cong

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala today sought to woo the backward sections of the society, promising to reserve 27 percent of the Haryana government's gazetted posts for them if the Congress was voted to power in the state after the next assembly elections.

"The Congress government will provide 27 per cent reservation to backward class communities in state government's gazetted posts," said Surjewala, addressing a 'Backward Classes Sammelan' here today.

The national spokesman and communications in-charge of the Indian National Congress (INC), Surjewala said if the party comes to power next year, it would also provide Rs 500 crore of soft loan to the unemployed backward class youths at four per cent interest rate and appoint one member each from the scheduled castes and backward castes in both the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Haryana Staff Selection Commission.

He said it was always a Congress government which increased the reservation quota for the backward classes in the state.

He said the backward classes were provided two per cent quota in 1952, which was increased to 10 per cent in 1980-81 by the erstwhile Congress government.

"The quota for the backward classes was further increased to 27 per cent for non-gazetted posts and 10 percent for gazetted posts in 1995-96, again by a Congress government. The quota for the backward classes was further increased to 15 per cent for the gazetted posts in 2014 by the then Congress government," he said in his address.

After formation of Haryana as a separate state, there have been five non-Congress governments for 22 years in the state but none of the non-Congress governments took any step for backward classes' welfare, he claimed.

Surjewala said the Congress party was committed to the welfare of the poor and deprived sections of the society.

"After forming government in the state, we will strengthen the Backward Class Corporation by providing five hundred crore rupees annually so that the same could be provided to the unemployed backward class youths so that they can earn better livelihood," he said.

Referring to the poll promises of the BJP, Surjewala said "big promises" were made by the BJP before the elections but none of them have been fulfilled.

He charged the BJP government with "betraying and duping" the poor and the people belonging to the backward and other deprived sections of the society.