OBC activists protest Maharashtra`s alleged anti-OBC attitude

Yavatmal: OBC activists under the banner of Maharashtra Rajya Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad from across Vidarbha region staged a protest on Saturday in front of the local residence of Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Shivajirao Moghe to protest against what they called the Maharashtra government`s "anti-OBC attitude".

Girls and women led by Diwakar Ghame and Madhuri Arathe of the Samata Parishad was flagged off from the statue of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and reached the local residence of Shivajirao Moghe under tight police security. Since there was no one to receive their representation, as Moghe was away from home, the activists threw the copy of the memorandum into the premises of Moghe`s residence and shouted slogans demanding parity with SCs and STs in the grant of scholarship OBC students. Talking to reporters later, Ghame has condemned the Maharashtra state government`s attitude towards OBC students and said the central government had enhanced the creamy layer limit upto Rs 6 lakh recently, but on August 21, the Maharashtra government issued a circular to all colleges instructing them to grant scholarship to students having their annual income upto Rs 4.5 lakh only. Accordingly, colleges issued notices asking students with annual income beyond Rs 4.5 lakh to pay their fees at the earliest, as they are not eligible for the scholarship, Ghame said, adding that on May 29, 2003, the Maharashtra government had accepted that OBCs would be treated as par with SC and ST students. However, the Maharashtra government, which is supposed to be a facilitator of the Central government on the scholarship issue, deliberately constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Jayant Bhanthiya on September 26 to "deprive" OBC students from the Central government sponsored scholarship, activists alleged.