Agartala, June 29:
The Scheduled Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) departments of the Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee on Monday jointly organised a protest rally and demonstration in front of the OBC Corporation office in Agartala, pressing for a series of welfare measures and alleging irregularities in the functioning of the corporation.
Addressing the gathering, Tripura Pradesh Congress OBC Department chairman Manoranjan Debnath said the protest was organised to highlight several longstanding demands concerning the welfare and rights of OBC communities in the state.
He alleged that the OBC Corporation was not functioning in the interest of beneficiaries and raised concerns over the existing loan disbursement process.
Debnath said one of the major obstacles faced by economically weaker applicants is the requirement of producing a government employee as a guarantor for obtaining loans from the corporation.
“We demand that the guarantor system for OBC Corporation loans be relaxed or reformed so that poor people, who cannot arrange government employee guarantors, are not deprived of financial assistance,” he said.
The Congress leader also demanded that the existing OBC Corporation be replaced by an OBC Commission, claiming such a body would better protect the interests of OBC communities.
Raising the issue of reservation in higher education, Debnath alleged that the constitutionally mandated 27 per cent reservation for OBC students is not being properly implemented in institutions such as the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Agartala and Tripura University. He urged the authorities to ensure full implementation of the reservation policy.
On employment, he demanded immediate job opportunities for educated unemployed youth belonging to OBC and Scheduled Caste communities. Until employment is provided, he said, every educated unemployed OBC and SC youth should receive a monthly unemployment allowance of ₹5,000. They also demanded for raising the daily wages of the MGNREGA to Rs 500.
The Congress leader further sought financial assistance for members of traditional OBC occupational communities whose hereditary professions are on the verge of extinction. He demanded profession-based loans to help revive and sustain these traditional livelihoods.
Debnath also called for greater constitutional safeguards for OBC communities. Referring to constitutional provisions, he urged the Tripura government to convene a special session of the State Assembly and pass a resolution seeking enhanced reservation measures for OBCs in education and political institutions, before forwarding it to the President of India for approval.
Welcoming the Centre’s decision to conduct a caste census, he said the Congress had long demanded such an exercise. However, he urged the state government not to wait for the census to be completed and instead initiate legislative measures immediately to strengthen reservation provisions for OBCs.
Large number of people from the OBC and SC communities with placards and banners participated in the protest rally that started from the Congress Bhavan.
The protest was organised to press these demands and urged the state government to take immediate action through consensus in the interest of OBC and SC communities.
