Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urges Odisha CM to implement OBC quota in government jobs, education
BHUBANESWAR: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to implement Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota in government jobs and educational institutions.
Writing to the Chief Minister, Pradhan said OBCs and Social and Economically Backward Classes (SEBCs) constitute a considerable portion of the total population in Odisha, many of whom also face the scourge of poverty and illiteracy necessitating a special treatment to the communities both in the field of education and employment.
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He said the Central government has provided 27 per cent reservations to OBCs in government jobs as well as in educational institutions to promote the welfare of OBCs which was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
Noting that many states have preferred a higher reservation for the special categories keeping in view the large percentage of these groups in the population, Pradhan said Odisha Government is not providing any reservation to OBCs in public employment or in educational institutions and to SEBCs in educational institutions.
“I would like to highlight the fact that both OBCs and SEBCs in Odisha have been deprived from higher education as well as public employment on account of their socio-economic backwardness.
Therefore, in order to ensure their representation, it is desirable that the Government of Odisha must provide reservation to both OBCs and SEBCs,” he said.