The Hindu : Front Page : State Ministers seek OBC Ministry

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Saturday, Jun 16, 2007
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State Ministers seek OBC Ministry

Special Correspondent

Three Ministers meet Arjun Singh at V. Hanumantha Rao's house

KEY VISIT: Senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao greets Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh at his residence in Hyderabad on Friday. PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

A group of State Ministers have made a strong plea with Union Minister for Human Resource Development Arjun Singh for establishment of a separate Ministry at the Centre for the welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

The Ministers, M. Mukesh Goud (BC Welfare), Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose (Social Welfare) and N. Raghuveera Reddy (Agriculture), all conferred with Mr. Singh individually on the need for an exclusive Ministry for OBCs so that the State Governments got Central funds. The Ministers met Mr. Singh at the residence of Rajya Sabha member of Congress V. Hanumantha Rao here on Friday.

Enumeration

Mr. Bose sought amendment to the Central Census Act that would enable enumeration of BC population. The enumeration was not possible without amending the Act.

He said the State Governments could not make sufficient allocation of budget to the BCs in the absence of reliable data about them.

Unless their population was fixed with a fair degree of accuracy, the allocation of sufficient funds was not possible, he said.

Exclusive Ministry

Mr. Mukesh Goud and Mr. Raghuveera Reddy also tried to impress upon Mr. Singh the need for an exclusive Ministry as that would considerably reduce the financial burden on State Governments to take up welfare programmes for BCs.

They said the State was spending Rs. 533 crore on BC welfare annually without getting any Central aid.

Earlier, Mr. Hanumantha Rao while thanking Mr. Singh for sanctioning an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to the State, sought an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the same vein. He appealed to the Centre to get the stay on quota for OBCs vacated in the court.

Sonia turns tide

In a separate conversation with Mr. Singh, Mr. Rao recalled that the BCs solidly rallied behind the Telugu Desam until AICC president Sonia Gandhi turned the tide after addressing a rally at Warangal in December 2002.

He stressed the need for the Congress to consolidate the vote bank of BCs, weaker sections and minorities.

It was also pointed out that there was no representation for BCs from the State in the Union Council of Ministers. Also present were Ministers, Ponnala Laxmaiah and D. Srinivas, Congress MPs, K.S. Rao, D. Vittal Rao and M. Anjan Kumar Yadav, and Legislative Council Chairman A. Chakrapani.

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