Bhubaneswar: Odisha is witnessing a political showdown over reservation for Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBCs)/OBCs. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today intensified pressure on the BJP government, staging a Raj Bhavan protest demanding a full 27% reservation for SEBC/OBC students in all higher education and employment, including professional courses.
This agitation follows the state BJP government’s recent announcement of an 11.25% SEBC quota in higher education, notably excluding medical, engineering, and technical streams.
BJD leaders slammed the 11.25% provision as insufficient, citing Central Government policy and other states’ implementation of 27% OBC reservation across all educational institutions. They also highlighted the disproportionate reservation for SC/STs in technical fields compared to their population share in Odisha. A BJD delegation later submitted a memorandum to Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, urging intervention for constitutional rights.
However, the ruling BJP swiftly counter-attacked. Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj accused the BJD of historical “oppression” of SEBCs, reminding reporters that the SEBC Act was repealed during the BJD’s own tenure. “The BJD has no moral right to criticize, as the Mohan Charan Majhi government has, for the first time, made a quota provision for SEBC students,” Shri Suraj retorted.
The Congress, also planning protests, joined the criticism. OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das welcomed the BJD’s current stance but questioned their failure to implement a quota during their 24 years in power, suggesting their protest implies an admission of past “mistake.”