The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) held a crucial meeting in the Mango region of East Singhbhum on Monday, focusing on preparations for upcoming urban local body elections. The meeting was presided over by Saurav Ojha, with Mohammed Rizwan managing the proceedings. Dr. Pawan Pandey, the National General Secretary (Urban Bodies) of the NCP, was the chief guest.
Dr. Pandey emphasized that following the Ghatshila by-election, the announcement of urban local body elections in Jharkhand could be imminent. He urged all party workers to mobilize with full political readiness. A key demand highlighted by the NCP is the implementation of constitutionally mandated reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in these elections. To facilitate this, Dr. Pandey stressed the urgent need for issuing caste certificates to eligible individuals from SC and OBC communities who are yet to receive them, ensuring their eligibility to contest on reserved seats.
He articulated that the fundamental purpose of reservation is to provide equal opportunities across all societal strata. The failure to extend these benefits to SC and OBC communities would undermine the very spirit of affirmative action. Dr. Pandey called upon party members to prepare for a significant movement demanding the prompt issuance of caste certificates. He warned that the lack of these certificates deprives individuals from these communities of essential benefits in education, employment, and healthcare.
Several prominent leaders and party workers, including Jitendra Mishra, Tejpal Singh Tony, Lalit Dhingra, Anwar Hussain, Abdul Jabbar, and Firoz Ahmed, were present at the event.