The Samajwadi Party, Odisha State Committee organised a demonstration here on Friday, demanding 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates in admission to higher education courses and also in State Government jobs.
Party’s State president Rabi Behera said, “The Central and many State Governments have been implementing 27% reservation in both Government jobs and admissions to universities, IITs and IIMs. But it is disappointing that the Odisha Government is only providing 11.25% of its jobs to Backward Classes candidates. There is no reservation for OBC students in admissions to colleges and universities here,” lamented Behera.
Besides placing 27% reservation in jobs and admissions in a memorandu to the Chief Minister, Behera too demanded a time-bound caste census of Backward Classes and low-interest loans to them and inclusion of Odisha OBC Reservation Act- 2008 in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution.
Among others, Sudarshan Pradhan, Sanjaya Nayak, Debasis Mohapatra, Desapriya Das, Atanu Mohanty and Rita Pattnaik were present.
