Bhubaneswar, May 20 (UNI) Odisha BJP President Manmohan Samal on Tuesday accused the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Congress of shedding “crocodile tears” over the demand for reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Addressing a press conference, Samal said that although the BJD has ruled the state for 24 years and the Congress had also been in power for a significant period, neither party took concrete steps to provide reservations to the backward classes in Odisha.
"In contrast," Samal stated, "the BJP government has taken a historic step by implementing reservation in education for the backward classes within just 11 months of coming to power."
He asserted that the BJP government is fully committed to ensuring the constitutional rights of backward classes in Odisha.
Questioning the intent of the opposition, Samal asked why the BJD and Congress failed to implement such reservations during their respective tenures.
Samal further claimed that Biju Patnaik, in whose name the Biju Janata Dal was founded, was the first Chief Minister in the country to challenge backward class reservations in the Supreme Court.
He also recalled that when the Mandal Commission report was presented in Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi—then Leader of the Opposition—had opposed it.
"These parties are now frustrated," Samal added, "as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi are consistently taking steps for the upliftment of the backward classes."
Recently, the BJP government decided to reserve 11.25 percent of seats in the education sector for students belonging to Other Backward Classes.
This reservation has been approved by the Cabinet and applies to all educational institutions under the departments of Higher Education, Mass Education, and Odia Language, Literature and Culture.
Samal highlighted that the Constitution allows up to 27percent reservation for backward classes in education and employment.
However, as per a Supreme Court ruling, the total reservation cannot exceed 50 percent.
“In line with this limit,” he explained, “the state currently allocates 22.5percent reservation for Scheduled Tribes, 16.25percent for Scheduled Castes, 5percent for the physically challenged, and 1percent for families of armed forces personnel.
Therefore, an 11.25percent reservation has been allocated to OBCs to remain within the permissible limit.”
Referring to the socio-economic caste census conducted in 2011 under the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Samal pointed out that while the percentages of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were made public, the data for Other Backward Classes was not disclosed.
He also alleged that the BJD government withdrew OBC reservations in the 2022 Panchayat elections.
Reaffirming the BJP’s stance, Samal said the party is dedicated to implementing the 11.25 percent reservation in medical, technical, and skill-based educational institutions.
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