OC association demands govt to set up national commission

Hyderabad: Alleging that a misinformation campaign is being carried out against the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation, the OC Social Welfare Association Federation held a maha dharna at Jantar Mantar on Monday. It demanded the establishment of a national OC commission, filling of backlog posts, and an increase in the income limit for EWS certificates to Rs 10 lakh.Poladi Ramarao, the federation's national president, along with other leaders, including Nalla Sanjeev Reddy, Gopu Jaipal Reddy, Amaravadi Lakshminarayana, and Gangu Upendra Sharma, called for the establishment of a national-level OC commission to ensure the effective implementation of EWS reservation.Ramarao said the federation would not allow false propaganda or conspiracies against the constitutionally mandated 10% EWS reservation, and urged people to remain vigilant. He criticised the misleading tactics of certain political forces attempting to create divisions among communities for political gain, and emphasised the need for vigilance.They expressed concern over the lack of political reservations for OCs, stating that candidates from the category struggle to compete in general seats due to financial disadvantages. The federation demanded that political reservations be extended to OCs in local elections and called for raising the age limit for students in competitive exams.The leaders also called for the implementation of the creamy layer system in reservations to ensure justice for economically weaker students across communities, and demanded constitutional amendments to facilitate this. They urged the govt to extend welfare schemes to farmers, increase the age limit for farmer insurance to 70 years, and introduce a special law for fair pricing of crops with farmer participation.They further demanded the integration of the national employment guarantee scheme with agriculture and said the protest in Delhi was organised to bring their demands to the attention of the central and state govts.