BJD, BJP clash over backward class reservation in Odisha
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Bhubaneswar: The battle over the backward class quota intensified in Odisha on Wednesday as the opposition BJD demanded a 27% reservation, matching the central govt's OBC quota.
The BJD's demonstration near Raj Bhawan drew immediate criticism from the BJP, which accused the regional party of political posturing after remaining inactive on the issue during its long tenure in power.
The face-off comes in the wake of the state govt's recent implementation of an 11.25% quota for socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) in general undergraduate and postgraduate courses from this academic year.
This development occurred a day after state BJP president Manmohan Samal announced that a similar quota would soon be extended to medical and technical courses.
In a memorandum addressed to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, the BJD demanded the implementation of a minimum of 27% reservation for SEBC/other backward class (OBC) students across all educational institutions in Odisha, including higher education, technical education (engineering and medical colleges), and vocational institutions.
The BJD also sought to increase the existing reservation percentages for ST and SC communities in technical and professional courses to 38.75% to align with their actual demographic representation, as is already followed in general higher education. The quota for SCs and STs in medical and technical education currently totals 20%, including 12% for STs and 8% for SCs, while it is 38.75% in general courses.
BJD MLA Arun Sahoo said the recent govt decision regarding the 11.25% reservation for SEBC students in higher educational institutions is inadequate and lacks comprehensive implementation.
"While the Central govt and several other states have already implemented a 27% reservation for OBCs across educational institutions, Odisha must follow suit to uphold the principles of equity, social justice, and constitutional responsibility," he said.
Countering the BJD, higher education minister Suraj Suryabanshi said the BJD remained anti-backward classes and anti-SCs and STs throughout its long 24 years of being in power.
"It did nothing. However, when the BJP govt has made a good start, the BJD has started preaching. The regional party has no such moral rights," he said.
Suraj pointed out that when the Orissa high court in Dec 2021 ruled that there couldn't be a quota for backward classes in panchayat elections in the absence of empirical data of their population, the BJD govt happily ended the quota instead of taking steps to collect their data and implement the reservation. In a similar situation, the BJP govt in Madhya Pradesh, then led by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, met the pre-requisites of collecting population data by postponing the panchayat elections, he said.
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