Secretariat: A team of BC leaders led by R Krishnaiah, the former MLA and president of BC Welfare Association, met Minister for Welfare Koppula Eshwar and held discussion on various BC issues on Thursday.

Speaking to media after the meeting, Krishnaiah said that they appealed to the minister to sanction full fee reimbursement to BC students who were pursuing engineering and other professional courses. He demanded that government to withdraw the criteria of giving fee reimbursement only to those who secured less than 10,000 rank. The minister was also urged to release funds for BC subsidy loans.

As many as 5,77,000 BCs applied for BC subsidy loans given through BC Corporation but their applications had been kept pending. He said that they urged the minister to see that loans were sanctioned.

Other demands made during the meeting were: hike in the scholarships being given to BC students; coaching of BC students for civil services and other exams at reputed private coaching institutes; and establishment of more BC and ST colleges in the state. A request to start additional sections in BC gurukul schools was also made to the minister, to which the minister assured them that a decision would be taken after consulting the CM.