Pressure on Centre Sought for BC Social Justice, Demand Protection Act

Former Minister Boda Janardhan and National President of the BC Dal, Dundra Kumaraswamy, have called for increased pressure on the Union Government to ensure social justice for Backward Classes (BCs). Along with leaders of 20 BC community organisations, they met Telangana Rashtra Sena Party president Kalvakuntla Kavitha and discussed key national issues concerning BC reservations, caste enumeration, and women’s representation.

The leaders expressed concern over the absence of a dedicated column for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the ongoing enumeration process, stating that without credible data on the socio-economic, educational, and employment conditions of BCs, effective policy planning would not be possible. While welcoming the proposed 33% reservation for women, they stressed that a sub-quota for OBC women is essential to uphold social justice and urged that pressure be mounted on the Centre until this demand is addressed.

Highlighting long-standing marginalisation, the leaders said BC communities continue to lack adequate representation despite constituting a significant share of the population. They demanded reservations based on population proportion, introduction of a BC Reservation Bill in Parliament, creation of a dedicated BC Ministry, and enactment of a “BC Protection Act” to prevent discrimination and violence. They also pointed out that while separate categories exist for SCs and STs in the ongoing digital enumeration, the exclusion of OBCs remains a serious concern.