Odisha: Will ensure OBC quota without caste census, says BJP

BHUBANESWAR: Rejecting the BJD’s demand for caste census, the BJP asserted that the double-engine government in the state is committed to provide reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per its promise during the 2024 election.

A delegation of the OBC Morcha of the party led by its president Surath Biswal had extensive discussion with the parliamentary committee on the welfare of OBCs headed by MP Ganesh Singh. Biswal said that Singh assured all cooperation to the state in this regard.

Biswal told mediapersons that OBCs are still deprived of their constitutional rights even as more than 35 years have passed since the Mandal Commission gave its recommendations. The BJD government did nothing for the OBCs during its 24-year rule, Biswal said.

Alleging that the Naveen Patnaik government had deprived OBCs from reservation in panchayat and ULB polls, Biswal also said lakhs of people could not take advantage of the Biswakarma scheme as the BJD-supported sarpanchs did not implement it in Odisha.

All these points were discussed with the parliamentary committee, he added.