BJD May Go Upto 50% Reservation For OBCs In Panchayat Polls In Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A day after Panchayati Raj Minister Pratap Jena said the BJD will give preference to OBCs during selection of candidates for panchayat polls, the ruling party’s organisational secretary Pranab Prakash Das on Friday said they may go upto 50% quota for the backward classes.

Responding to Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s attack on the state government on OBC reservation, Das in a tweet said BJD is committed to 40% reservation for OBCs in panchayat poll tickets and may even go upto 50% reservation.

“We will publicly publish list of these OBC candidates who have been provided reservation in BJD tickets. I appeal to you to do the same for BJP,” tweeted Das.

In another tweet, Das said, “You are Union Minister, elected to Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh. For how many years was your party in power there? Why did you fail to ensure OBC reservation in MP? More so now, with Supreme Court striking down MP’s OBC reservation policy for polls.”

On Thursday, Minister Pratap Jena had said the state government cannot make provisions for reservation for OBCs as per the list prepared by the SEC on the Supreme Court’s order. But the BJD will give preference to OBCs during the selection of candidates.

Also Read: BJD To Go Ahead With Preference To OBC Candidates In Odisha Panchayat Polls