India News | Odisha: BJD Slams BJP Govt, Accuses It of Neglecting OBCs
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A day after labeling the ruling BJP as "anti-tribal", Opposition BJD on Thursday criticised the Odisha government for neglecting backward class communities.
Bhubaneswar, Sep 26 (PTI) A day after labeling the ruling BJP as "anti-tribal", Opposition BJD on Thursday criticised the Odisha government for neglecting backward class communities.
Addressing reporters, BJD Rajya Sabha MPs Sasmit Patra and Subhashish Khuntia accused the Mohan Charan Majhi government of hindering the progress of Other Backward Classes (OBCs), contrasting it with the previous BJD administration's efforts to support these communities.
Patra said, "The BJP governments at both the state and central levels are ignoring the needs of people belonging to backward class communities."
The BJD called for an immediate caste-based census in Odisha, arguing that such a survey would be essential for developing effective welfare programmes for OBCs. They also demanded an increase in OBC reservation from the current 11.5 per cent to 27 per cent.
The BJD leaders highlighted that the previous government had passed a resolution in January 2020 for a caste-based census and had approved amendments to the Odisha State Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.
They noted that a State Commission for Backward Classes was established, with former High Court Judge Justice Raghunath Biswal appointed as its chairman.
Additionally, they referenced a unanimous Assembly resolution passed on February 17, 2020, aimed at amending the Backward Classes Act to facilitate a survey of the social and educational conditions of backward class populations.
Despite OBCs and Socially and Economically Backward Classes comprising more than half of Odisha's population, BJD leaders stated that legal directives prevented the government from implementing 50 per cent reservation for them.
The regional party also called for proportional reservation in admissions to technical and medical institutions. As of now, the BJP has not responded to BJD's allegations.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)