Bhubaneswar: Odisha Assembly Saturday witnessed a noisy protest by opposition Congress and BJP members over alleged denial of proper reservation for the ST, SC and OBC candidates in the admission into MBBS and BDS courses, following which the House was adjourned till 4pm.
The issue was raised by Congress Legislature Party Leader Rama Chandra Kadam during the Zero Hour where he alleged that the ST, SC and OBC students were losing several seats as the administration denied them “proper quota”.
He alleged that the STs, SCs & OBCs who constitute 94 per cent of the state’s population could not get proper reservation as provided by the Constitution.
“Though the ratio of ST & SC population in the state is 38.75 per cent, they are given only 20 per cent reservation in the admission. Similarly, the OBCs, who are 50 per cent of the state’s population, could not get any reservation,” Kadam pointed out.
The Congress leader alleged that though OBCs are entitled to get 27 per cent reservation in admission to MBBS and BDS courses, they get nothing.
However, the government has kept a provision of 10 per cent reservation for the economically weaker people of the general category who constitute only 6 per cent of the population, Kadam alleged.
He alleged, while the ST and SC categories lose around 300 seats due to improper quota, the OBCs lose around 376 seats. The OBCs deserve a 27 per cent quota in the state.
“Therefore, the admission process which starts from August 29 should be cancelled and issue a fresh notification after giving proper reservations for ST, SC and OBC category students,” Kadam said.
BJD member Arun Kumar Sahoo also expressed concern and demanded that the OBC students should get at least 11.25 per cent reservation in admission as they are given in the recruitments.
BJP member Tankadhar Tripathy, however, criticised the BJD and Congress for raising ST, SC and OBC issues with a vested political interest. “What the BJD government did for these categories during its 24-year rule in Odisha,” Tripathy asked.
Seeking a ruling from the Speaker, the opposition members staged an agitation in the well of the House and raised anti-BJP slogans. As Speaker Surama Padhy’s appeal to the agitating members failed to yield any result, she adjourned the proceeding till 4pm in two phases.
PTI