Bhubaneswar: A day after Odisha government announced 11.25 per cent reservation for SEBC students in higher education, opposition Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Thursday termed the move a ‘cruel joke’ and ‘betrayal.’
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Srikant Jena lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for excluding technical courses like medical, engineering and other professional education from quota for SEBC students.
“The move is a complete betrayal of the 54% OBC/SEBC students and youth. Although it is projected by the chief minister as a historic step, this decision offers no real benefit. As a result, OBC/SEBC students will continue to be denied any reservation–0% (nil) in technical and professional education,” he said in a statement.
In stark contrast, a community comprising just 6% of the population enjoys 10% reservation in both education and employment, including in technical and professional institutions, along with the added advantage of dominating access to the remaining 70% unreserved seats. This highlights the deep structural imbalance and further marginalises the OBC/SEBC communities, the Congress leader said.
“This decision is yet another attempt to dilute constitutional guarantees and deny marginalised communities their due,” Jena claimed.
Attacking the government in same vein, senior BJD leader and former Minister Arun Sahoo described the decision on reservation for SEBC students in higher education as misleading. The government has excluded engineering, medical and professional courses from the purview of quota for SEBC which is highly unfair for students belonging to these communities, he told reporters.
Accusing the government of sidestepping its obligation by avoiding any mention of technical education, the BJD leader claimed that the government has approved reservation for courses in which seats are lying vacant because of less demand.
Both Jena and Sahoo demanded steps by the government to provide reservation for admission of SEBC students in engineering, technical, medical and professional courses
Jena said the government should immediately implement 27% reservation for OBC/SEBC students in all educational institutions, including medical, engineering, and other professional courses.
The government should also implement 27% Reservation in public employment, along with a special recruitment drive to make up for years of lost opportunities for OBC/SEBC youth, he said.
The Congress leader also demanded the following:
- Full enforcement of the 2015 order granting 38.75% SC-ST reservation in technical and professional education.
- Extension of reservation to private educational institutions, in accordance with Article 15(5) of the Constitution.
- Revival of the SC-ST, OBC & Minority Finance Corporation and creation of a Rs 5,000 crore corpus fund to provide interest subsidies, margin money support, and concessional loans to marginalised entrepreneurs.
