Bhubaneswar, April 5 The BJD and Congress on Sunday demanded that reservation for students from socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) be provided based on their population ratio in Odisha, rather than just 11.25 per cent, as announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
On Saturday, the CM announced that the state cabinet had approved a proposal to increase quotas for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students and introduce reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC), known as SEBC in Odisha, in medical and technical education.
The chief minister also announced that the quota for ST students had been raised from 12 per cent to 22.50 per cent, and for SC students from 8 per cent to 16.25 per cent, based on their population ratio.
Majhi said that the state government, for the first time, had introduced reservation for OBCs at 11.25 per cent.
However, both BJD and Congress leaders raised questions about the difference made between ST, SC, and OBCs.
"While the quota is announced for ST and SC based on their population ratio, why is it just 11.25 per cent for OBCs who constitute about 54 per cent of the state's population?" asked Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das.
"We demand that OBCs also receive reservation in medical and technical education based on their population rate. It makes no sense to keep the total reservation within 50 per cent in states like Odisha, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh, given the high population of tribal, Dalit, and OBC communities," Das said.
BJD MLA and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo also made a similar demand, citing the example of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and other states where the total reservation ratio is more than 50 per cent.
"This is a golden opportunity for the Odisha government, as it claims to be a double-engine government. Let the state government take up this matter with the Centre and provide reservation beyond 50 per cent," Sahoo said.
He added, "We demand that the quota be fixed on a population-proportional rate."
BJD MLA and former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain, in a post on X, said, "With this historic announcement for the lakhs of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes in the state, I personally thank and welcome this decision by @CMO_Odisha Shri @MohanMOdisha."
At the same time, Swain said, "The fight will continue in the coming days to provide reservations to socially and educationally backward classes also based on their population-proportional rate."
According to Majhi's announcement, the new reservation system will be implemented across universities, their affiliated colleges and educational institutions, ITIs, and polytechnics in the state in the fields of engineering, technology, management, computer applications, medicine, agriculture, and allied sciences, architecture, planning, and cinematic arts.