Odisha Congress Seeks Governor's Intervention for Enhanced Quotas

Congress legislators in Odisha have urged Governor Raghubar Das to enhance reservation quotas for SC, ST, and OBC students in technical and medical education. The legislators allege that current reservation policies cause significant inequities for these groups, which constitute 94% of the state's population.

Congress legislators in Odisha on Thursday sought the intervention of Governor Raghubar Das to enhance reservation quotas for SC, ST, and OBC students in technical and medical education within the state.

The issue has been repeatedly raised by Congress MLAs in the state Assembly. Senior Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati highlighted the matter during zero hour on Thursday, demanding a ruling from the Speaker.

Displeased with the Speaker's lack of response, Congress members, led by Rama Chandra Kadam, staged a walkout and approached Raj Bhavan to seek the Governor's intervention. In a memorandum to the Governor, Congress MLAs cited 'gross injustice' faced by OBC, SC, and ST students in Odisha.

According to the memorandum, these groups comprise 94 percent of the state's population, yet suffer from inequities in access to higher education and employment due to the current reservation policies. The MLAs pointed out discrepancies in the percentages allocated for employment versus higher education, particularly in technical courses.

While the state has implemented the Centre's 2019 directive to reserve 10 percent of seats for economically weaker sections (EWS), benefiting only 6 percent of the population, it remains inactive on providing OBC students, who make up 54 percent of the population, their fair share, they claimed. Hundreds of students are being denied their constitutional rights to higher education each year due to this biased policy, the legislators alleged.

(With inputs from agencies.)