BHUBANESWAR: Differences have surfaced within the BJD following the state government’s decision to grant 11.25 per cent reservation to Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in medical, engineering and other higher educational institutions.
While former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain welcomed the move and thanked Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, party colleague Arun Sahoo argued that the quota should be proportionate to the SEBC population in the state.
Swain said in an important cabinet meeting on Saturday, the government announced reservation for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC) in medical, engineering and other higher education and technical courses, along with 11.25 per cent reservation for SEBC students.
The former minister said when the state government had previously announced reservation for SEBCs only in higher educational institutions, he had announced that he would thank them with an open heart the day they implement this reservation in technical institutions. “I welcome and personally thank Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, for this historic announcement for lakhs of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes students in the state,” he said.
Sahoo, however, said the reservation for SEBCs should be raised to 54 per cent which will be proportionate to their population in the state. Stating that the two-year-old double-engine government should have taken steps to ensure that SEBCs get their rights, Sahoo said Tamil Nadu has 69 per cent reservation, which is more than 50 per cent ceiling imposed by the Supreme Court.
President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das also demanded 54 per cent reservation for SEBCs in higher educational and technical institutions. Stating that Congress has always demanded proportionate reservation for SEBCs, Das said, the government should enhance the quota for SEBC students. He, however, praised the government for increasing reservation for STs and SCs.