BJP’s ‘March to village’ from April 6 to demand reservation for OBCs in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: Lashing out at the state government for denying constitutional rights of reservation in jobs and education to the vast majority of the population belonging to other backward classes (OBCs), the BJP on Sunday announced to launch a ‘march to village’ programme from April 6.

“Odisha is the only state in the country which is yet to implement 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in government jobs and educational institutions. Our fight against injustice will be more sharpened in coming days,” national vice-president of BJP OBC Morcha Krishna Gaur told a media conference here.

It is matter of concern that the state government is not showing any interest to provide the OBCs their due despite implementation of 27 per cent reservation in undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses in 2021, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidylayas and Sainik Schools in 2020 by the Central government, she said.

A large number of poor families in the state are struggling to join the mainstream in the development process as the government is not providing them their share of quota in government jobs. A member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly and zonal in-charge of OBCs in six states including Odisha, Gaur said the state unit members of the Morcha will launch a nine-day padayatra to all the villages from April 6, the foundation day of BJP, to Amebedkar Jayanti on April 14.

The objective of the march to villages is to make OBCs who constitute 54 per cent of the state’s population aware of their rights and seek their support to fight the state government injustice. Gaur said efforts will be made to meet people and explain to them the performance of the Modi government with specific reference to the OBCs.