Gadchiroli June 15 (District Correspondent) A meeting of the National OBC Federation was held at Tukobaray Public Library under the chairmanship of the Federation’s National Working President, Sheshrao Yelekar the other day.
Republican Party senior leader Rohidas Raut, ANIS State General Secretary Vilas Nimborkar, social activist Sharad Patil Brahmanwade, Library President Pandurang Nagapure, OBC Federation Women’s Wing President Mangala Karekar, and Secretary Namrata Kuttarmare were prominently present.
Speaking on the occasion, Sheshrao Yelekar noted that in the first phase of the census, there was no separate column for OBCs unlike for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, resulting in a failure to classify the social and economic status of the OBC community. Although OBCs staged protests and boycotts in various locations against this, a separate column for OBCs has not yet been included in the first-phase gazette notification. The National OBC Federation has decided to launch a series of agitations demanding the inclusion of three specific columns in the gazette for the second phase that is scheduled to begin in February 2027-ie caste, category, and the social-economic status. As part of this movement, massive rallies are being planned across various districts, with one scheduled for Chandrapur on June 28. He appealed to members of the OBC community to attend this rally in large numbers.
He further stated that the annual income of Class 3 and Class 4 government employees in the country has now exceeded ₹8 lakh; therefore, the income limit for the ‘creamy layer’ criteria should be raised from ₹8 lakh to ₹15 lakh. He remarked that while the National OBC Federation has been making this demand to the Central Government for the past six years, has been deliberately ignoring the issue.
Mr. Rohidas Raut stated that the State Cabinet’s decision—which mandates that a candidate from a reserved category be considered only under their original category, even if they score higher than the open category cut-off—disregards all previous Supreme Court rulings and is unjust to OBC, SC, and ST students. He urged the members of these communities to unite and launch an agitation to demand the immediate revocation of this decision. He also appealed for the immediate cancellation of the government’s decision to acquire fertile land in the district—a move that deceives and threatens to ruin farmers—and called for support for the farming community.
Farmer activist Sharad Brahmanwade, OBC worker Dattaraj Narad, OBC youth activist Rajesh Gohne, Pandurang Nagapure, and women’s wing president Mangala Karekar also expressed their views on the matter.
The meeting was attended by National OBC Federation Vice-President Prof. Devanand Kamdi, Pandurang Ghotekar, Secretary Suresh Bhandekar, Dadaji Chaple, Shaligram Vidhate, Ghanshyam Jakulwar, Mahadev Nikure, Vaman Gurnule, Dattaraj Narad, Vijay Girsavale, Shalikram Chaple, Tryambak Karodkar, Maruti Dudhbavre, Tikaram Bhoyar, Ramesh Thakre, Yadav Banbale, Murlidhar Peddivar, Sandhya Yelekar, Arun Zhade, Chandrakant Shivankar, Rajendra Urkude, Bhaskar Narule, Haridas Kotarange, Hansraj Undirvade, Raju Gohne, and many other community members.
