Backward Class body seeks fair reservation

BANGALORE: Demanding ‘fair’ representation in the private sector, the Federation of SC/ST Employees Welfare Associations requested the Government to reserve seats  for members of the SC/ST community. On Thursday, the Federation organised a Round Table Conference to discuss the need for reservation in the private sector, which according to them, will help protect their interests. The meet also focused on securing the participation of the members of the Federation in a rally that will be held on November 28 in New Delhi.Setting the agenda for the meet, M Venkataswamy, state secretary, SSD, spoke of how the government had promised reservation. “In the year 2004, the UPA government had promised it would implement policies that would reserve seats for the members of our community in private business enterprises and corporates. Till date, there has been no concrete action on the same,” he explained.Voicing his opinion that reservation will increase employment opportunities for the community, C S Dwarkanath, former chairman, Permanent Backward Class Commission, said that the community is asking for better representation in the name of reservation. “We are just calling it reservation. It is better representation or a demand for equal opportunities,” he said.Criticising the lack of will to implement policies that are in favour of the SC/ST community, he said, “No government has the will to implement reservation policies.” He alleged that the corporate sector is also against the policy to reserve seats for the mmembers of SC/ST community. “When I asked Infosys to collect caste data of their employees, they were extremely reluctant. This shows that they are not willing to help us secure better employment opportunities,” he said.