Congress amends its Constitution, to reserve 50 per cent of all party positions for women, youth

In a historic organisational shift, the Congress Party decided on Saturday to provide 50% reservation to scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), other backward classes (OBCs), women, youth, and minorities in its working committee and all party positions. At its 85th plenary session in Raipur, the party amended its constitution and made the social change. According to the party, the decision marks the start of a new era of social justice.

“Constitution has been amended to provide Reservation of 50 per cent for SC/ST/OBCs/Minorities and horizontal reservation of 50 per cent for youth and women in the reserved and unreserved categories for all office bearers and delegates. The concept of “50 Under 50″ as enunciated in the Udaipur Shivir has been incorporated into the Constitution,” the Congress party said in a statement.

According to the party’s amended constitution, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will now include former prime ministers and AICC chiefs, as well as leaders of the Congress in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The party amended its constitution 85 times in total. Beginning January 1, 2025, Congress will only have Digital Memberships, according to the amended Constitution. During the 85th Plenary session, the party also released its political resolution, in which it promised to pass a hate crime law, guarantee citizens’ right to free healthcare, and restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, among other things.

According to the party’s amended constitution, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will now include former prime ministers and AICC chiefs, as well as leaders of the Congress in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The party amended its constitution 85 times in total. Beginning January 1, 2025, Congress will only have Digital Memberships, according to the amended Constitution. During the 85th Plenary session, the party also released its political resolution, in which it promised to pass a hate crime law, guarantee citizens’ right to free healthcare, and restore Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, among other things.

The resolution also stated that the assembly elections in nine states this year, as well as the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, are “crucial for India’s future,” and that there is an urgent need for a united opposition to take on the BJP-led NDA government on ideological grounds.

According to the statement, the party intends to restore special category status to the North Eastern States, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. The draught resolution came down heavily on the BJP-led government, accusing it of political vendetta and abusing central agencies like ED, NIA, CBI and IT “to intimidate and subjugate political opponents”.

The Congress pledged to “identify, mobilise, and align like-minded secular forces.” According to the resolution, the emergence of any third force will benefit the BJP.

According to the resolution, Congress will prepare a vision document for 2024 after conducting the largest-ever mass contact campaign, which will address issues such as unemployment, poverty eradication, inflation, women’s empowerment, job creation, and national security.

In an apparent reference to Home Minister Amit Shah’s comments that the BJP will face no competition in the 2024 elections, the Congress stated that it welcomes the challenge.

“It is quite shocking that BJP leaders have reached the pinnacle of arrogance by saying that the BJP has no competitors in 2024. This is a big challenge, not just to Congress and other parties, but to the democratic ethos of India.” Congress welcomes this challenge!

“The 2023 Assembly elections to nine states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are crucial for India’s future. The choice before our people is crystal clear. The Congress must redefine political discourse by recapturing the centre space in the present polarised polity,” the resolution said.

The resolution expressed Congress’s resolve “to liberate the nation from its present agony and darkness, heal the wounds created by these divisive forces, and reinstate stability and peace again.”

The resolution expressed Congress’s resolve “to liberate the nation from its present agony and darkness, heal the wounds created by these divisive forces, and reinstate stability and peace again.”

It claimed that the 4000-kilometer-long Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir was a significant first step in this direction.

The party said the BJP government “has distorted all three arms of government and the fourth estate of the media to protect their interests over the people’s interests”.

“Every institution has been subverted, undermined and threatened. Democracy is on the verge of being expunged from India. Free discussions and debates in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies have been curtailed. Expunging the truth and suppressing the voices of the Opposition is becoming the order of the day. This is a blatant subversion of Article 105 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech as a right for Members of Parliament,” the party said.