AHINDA, a forum of minorities, backward classes and Dalits, on Wednesday urged political parties to nominate candidates from most backward communities to the Legislative Council in the State and the Rajya Sabha.
Addressing presspersons on behalf of AHINDA, the former Chairman of Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission C.S. Dwarakanath said that with the efforts of B.R. Ambedkar, persons from some backward communities got the opportunity to be elected to Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and other local bodies from reserved constituencies.
However, several most backward classes hadn’t received representation, he said. “In the present electoral system, these most backward classes had to keep away from the general elections as money and caste factors played a major role. Of the 250 castes coming under the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes categories, none of them got representation,” he added.
He said the majority of the members in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council was from forward communities. “Now, political parties have to nominate candidates to 11 Legislative Council seats and four Rajya Sabha seats. Political parties, which project themselves as saviours of the backward and downtrodden classes, should show their commitment and select persons from these communities,” he said.
MemorandumMr. Dwarakanath said that they would submit a memorandum to political parties shortly.
