Socio-economic Caste Enumeration: BJP, Cong Slam Odisha Govt

Bhubaneswar, Jan 12 (PTI) BJP and Congress leaders on Sunday slammed Odisha's BJD government for its decision to seek socio-economic caste enumeration along with general Census, saying that the state has not yet implemented reservation for OBCs in government jobs and education.

A day after the Odisha Cabinet passed a resolution to approach the Centre to conduct caste-wise enumeration of Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes (SEBC/OBC) during 2021 Census, opposition leaders asked the state government to provide quota for OBCs in jobs and education and SEBCs in education.

According to the Constitution, OBCs can be provided 27 per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, but the Odisha government has never implemented it, senior BJP leader and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan alleged.

The petroleum and steel minister said that he had urged the state government in July 2019 to take steps for implementing the quota provision for OBCs.

OBCs and SEBCs constitute a sizeable part of state's population, and many of them are in poverty, he said adding that a special treatment is required for them.

The central government has already provided 27 per cent reservations to OBCs in government jobs and in educational institutions for their welfare as per the constitutional provision which was also upheld by the Supreme Court, the minister said.

The union minister said many states are providing a higher quota for the special categories.

However, the Odisha government is "not providing any reservation to OBCs in public employment or in educational institutions and to SEBCs in educational institutions", he alleged.

"The fact remains that both OBCs and SEBCs have been deprived of their constitutional rights for the last 30 years in Odisha and the state government should provide them necessary quotas in education and public employment on account of their socio-economic backwardness," Pradhan said.

Former Union Minister Srikant Jena also lashed out at the Odisha government over the issue and asked why Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik failed to provide required quota to OBCs and SEBCs in last 20 years.

Jena demanded that the state should immediately implement 27 per cent reservation for OBCs and 38.5 per cent quota for SCs and STs in employment and education.

While over 94 per cent of Odisha's population is eligible to get caste-based reservations, only 6 per cent are taking all benefits, he said, adding some states are providing total quotas much higher than 50 per cent.

While Tamil Nadu provides a total quota of 69 per cent, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra have raised it to 67 per cent, he claimed.

Slamming the BJD government, senior Congress leader and MLA Suresh Routray said adoption of the resolution on Saturday is "not a historic step".

"The move is nothing but a new plan of the ruling BJD to garner votes," he said, adding that the state government has raised the demand keeping in mind the ensuing elections for urban local bodies.

The move is aimed at diverting people's attention from other important issues, Routray said.

Another senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ranjib Biswal hit out at the state government for its move and said it is aimed at dividing people for deriving political gains.

Denying all the allegations, senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said adequate data on the socio-economic condition of people would enable the government to prepare a roadmap for their development.

It is not unconstitutional to include socio-economic caste enumeration in the general census, he said.

The government has pointed out that no formal census including caste details of the population has been undertaken since 1931.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)