BENGALURU: The OBC Federation of India will host a convention on Monday to highlight the educational, economic, occupational and political challenges faced by the marginalised communities of South India. OBC leaders, like former minister PGR Scindia and MLC Adagur H Vishwanath, will participate in the convention.
This comes in the backdrop of the ongoing debate over the Backward Classes Commission’s caste census report. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is expected to discuss the report in the cabinet meeting on Thursday, while the Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha, which has slammed the report as “ten-year-old and unscientific”, has scheduled a high-level meeting on Tuesday to discuss its ramifications. Both the powerful Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities have voiced strong opposition to the report, calling it deeply “flawed and unscientific”.
Adding to this is the Mandal Commission report, which will be a focal point of the OBC convention. The social justice vision of late chief minister D Devaraj Urs and the ongoing struggle of under-represented communities will also take centerstage as the convention seeks to highlight future challenges and solutions.
The event will precede the Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha’s meeting, during which the dominant Lingayat community, led by MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, will deliberate on the potential impact of implementing the report.