file photo – UP OBC Congress state president Manoj Yadav
Lucknow: Escalating its pitch for a scientific caste census and legal safeguards for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), UP Congress Committee’s (UPCC) OBC wing on Tuesday issued an ultimatum to BJP govt, threatening to gherao Raj Bhavan on Oct 5 if its demands were not met by Oct 4. UP OBC Congress state president Manoj Yadav outlined three key demands: the inclusion of a dedicated OBC column in the 2027 Census, a standardised drop-down list of OBC sub-castes for enumerators, and the enactment of an OBC Atrocities Prevention Act on the lines of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to check rising crimes against the community.
If govt fails to act by Oct 4, OBC community members from across UP will gherao the Raj Bhavan on Oct 5,” Yadav said. Yadav cited the Bihar and Telangana caste survey models, noting that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had written to Prime Minister demanding a nationwide caste census, but received no positive response. “The fight for representation and protection has reached a do-or-die moment.
“When it comes to granting OBCs their rightful share in reservations, jobs and state resources, the PM defers to the RSS,” Yadav said. Accusing the BJP of treating OBCs merely as a vote bank, Yadav alleged that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi invokes his OBC identity during elections, the community faces systemic exploitation, denial of rights and violent attacks under the present regime.