India Inc cries foul at Congress' promise to provide quotas in private sector

The Congress on Wednesday repeated its promise to provide quotas in private sector for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes if it returns to power after the general elections. Industry leaders said it is just a populist promise and there is nothing new in it.

"Congress's manifesto demanding private sector reservation for SC/ST is populism at its worst," managing director of Biocon Kiran Mazumdar Shaw tweeted.

In its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress said it is "committed to creating national consensus on affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector."

Leading industry chambers the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said the party has just repeated its promise made in its previous manifesto and ambiguity continues on the issue.

On vacant reserved posts in government and public sector undertakings, the Congress promised that it will take steps to ensure that all "reserved posts are filled and a special drive will be undertaken to fill all the backlog vacancies in reserved posts."

"The Indian National Congress will establish special commissions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes to identify communities within each group which have not benefited from reservations and other affirmative action programmes and which need to be given special focus," it said.