We would not allow the Constitution to be scrapped: OBC meet

MUMBAI: Ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, the All India Muslim OBC Conference – that saw the presence of top community leaders – decleared that they would resist and prevent any move to change the Constitution or tamper with its basic structure.

“This would not happen…we would not allow the Constitution to be changed,” Shabbir Ahmed Ansari President, All India Muslim OBC Organization, said at the Samvidhan Samman Samellan.

The event also saw the presence of former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is the President of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad and Fisheries Minister Mahadev Jankar.

“The OBCs are not getting their due share as per suggested by Manadal Commission” said Bhujbal, a veteran NCP leader

Bhujbal further said that in the quest of of getting justice for Muslim OBCs I am ready to work shoulder to shoulder with Shabbir Ansari.

Jankar added that the current government is serious on the issues of OBCs unlike previous government. He further said that we are ready to talk to every political party and every government for the benefit of OBCs.

Ansari pointed out that the threat to Constitution is not a new phenomenon but it has been manipulated and disturbed since the early days of Indian democracy.

“Many of total 123 amendments done to the Constitution of India has hit the basic spirit and essence of the religious equality and have been done with the intension to help the government in power or to support a particular segment of the people in the country,” he pointed out.

“The most prominent example is the Presidential order given on 10th August 1950 that no person professing any religion other than Hinduism would be deemed to be a member of a Scheduled Caste. This patently anti-secular and grossly anti-democratic order was stiffly resisted by Sikh and Nav Buddhist Dalits. In the face of strong protests, over the years the Indian state was compelled to extend Scheduled Caste status to Sikh and Nav Buddhist Dalits. Yet, it continues to deny the same to Christian and Muslim Dalits,” added Ansari.

This is a clear violation of the Constitutional rights of these groups that number in the tens of millions. It is a patent act of discrimination on the basis of religion engaged in by the Indian state itself, clearly revealing its pro-Hindu bias. As per Ranganathan Mishra Commission Recommendations which was formed by UPA Government, this religions discrimination under the Para 3 of Article 341 should be immediately removed.

We also demand effective steps for providing representation to Backward Classes in all spheres of life. The political parties in Maharashtra only used OBC’s votes to come to power but have never given significant representation to OBCs.

The representation of Backward Classes in Local Government, Assembly and Parliament is very low as compared to their population in the state. Constituencies with substantial OBC voter population must be given to OBCs. Further Political parties must make sure that more and more OBC Candidates win these elections. The Government must also make sure the proportionate representation of OBCs in all other Committees and Commission.

“The constitution of India made by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has given equal rights to every single individual in the country irrespective of his Caste, Creed, Religion, Region and Gender. It is very important to respect the constitution in its true spirit by every political or social outfit and any attempt to change or manipulate the constitution must be strongly condemned and rejected,” the conference noted.