Bhubaneswar: A day after the State Cabinet decided to provide 11.25 per cent reservation for SEBC students in higher education, Opposition BJD and Congress termed the move a ‘cruel joke’ and ‘betrayal’ for the OBC students.
The Opposition parties demanded reservation of seats for the SEBC or OBC students in the medical and engineering courses.
Senior BJD leader and MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said the Government has excluded engineering, medical and other professional courses from the purview of quota for SEBC which is highly unfair for students belonging to these communities.
If the reservation system will be implemented in the medical and engineering courses, then only the SC, ST and OBC students can be benefitted, Sahoo said.
“At least 27 percent reservation should be provided to the OBC students. After bringing amendment to prevailing law, the reservation should be enhanced to 54 percent. The SC and ST should also get the reservation as per their population,” the BJD leader demanded.
Senior Congress leader and former union minister Srikant Jena too lashed out at the BJP government for excluding technical courses like medical, engineering and other professional education from quota for SEBC students.
“It is being projected as a historic step, but in reality, OBC/SEBC students will continue to face zero reservation in critical fields like medical, engineering, and other professional education. This decision fails to address the core demand for representation where it matters the most,” Jena said.
The senior Congress leader also criticised the disparity in the State’s reservation structure, pointing out that while a community comprising around 6 per cent of the population enjoys 10% reservation in both education and employment — including technical and professional institutions — OBC and SEBC students, who make up 54 per cent of the population, remain marginalised.
The former union minister noted that the new Cabinet decision was a mere reiteration of a government notification issued in June 2015, which promised 38.75 per cent reservation for SC and ST communities in higher education but has not been fully implemented in technical and professional institutions to date.
“Even after a decade, the reservation for SC-ST students in technical education remains at just 20 per cent,” he added.
Terming the Cabinet decision as historic, Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj emphasised that those (BJD-led government) who had not initially provided reservation have no right to say more or less now. The State government has ensured social justice for the OBC students.
“There was zero per cent reservation for SEBC students in higher education during the previous BJD government’s 24-year rule. This is the first time 11.25 per cent reservation has been provided. Those who denied this earlier have no moral right to criticise the BJP Government,” Suraj told reporters.
Asked why the reservation wasn’t raised to the 27 per cent mark — as in other states — Suraj said, “There is a Supreme Court cap preventing states from exceeding 50 per cent caste-based reservation. After accounting for 38.75 per cent reserved for SCs and STs, the remaining 11.25 per cent has been allotted to SEBCs.”
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also lauded the state BJP government for making reservation provision for SEBC students.
“SEBC students got reservation only after the BJP was formed by the government in the state. We are committed to social justice,” Pradhan said.
Echoing this sentiment, BJP OBC Morcha president Surath Biswal blamed the BJD for neglecting SEBCs during its tenure.
“The BJD denied social justice for 24 years. In just 11 months, the BJP has introduced reservation for SEBC students. This shows our commitment to social justice in Odisha,” he stated.