BHUBANESWAR: The demand for a caste census has gained ground in Odisha with the Opposition alleging the socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs) survey failed to properly assess the number of backward classes in the state.
Congress on Thursday demanded that the state government convene a special session of the Assembly for a day to discuss the issue, while the BJP said the BJD government is not committed towards SEBCs and the survey was an eyewash. Both parties demanded the report of the survey conducted by the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes (OSCBC) be immediately made public.
President of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee Sarat Pattanayak rejected the survey by OSCBC and demanded the government carry out a caste census. As the survey was voluntary, many people in urban areas did not not participate as was evident in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack which is why the number of SEBCs may have come down, he said.
Leader of Congress Legislature Party Narasingha Mishra accused the state government of being anti-OBC and said staff was not provided to the OSCBC. “The government is not even assisting the commission. The BJD is completely anti-OBC,” he added.
The BJP said the survey was not properly conducted. Rengali MLA Nauri Naik pointed out the exercise largely relied on voluntary participation necessitating individuals to visit survey centres with documents for identification, leading to the exclusion of many. This, he said, indicates the state government lacks commitment to the development of backward classes. The survey report must be released immediately by the government as has been done in Bihar, he said.
Former Union minister Srikant Jena also called for a caste-based census. A door-to-door census can bring out the number of SEBCs in the state, he said adding the Centre and the state government have done injustice to backward classes. As per the 1931 caste census, OBCs and SEBCs comprised 54 per cent of the state’s population and now their numbers have increased.
However, BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra dismissed the Opposition’s allegations. Had the government been ‘anti-OBC’, it would not have constituted a commission in the first place, the former minister said. As some other castes are demanding inclusion in the OBC list, the government is seriously considering everything before making the final report public, he added.