Cong demands special session for OBC reservation

Bhubaneswar, Jul 28 (UNI) The Opposition Congress today demanded for a special session of the Orissa Assembly to adopt a resolution providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in the state.

Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Jayadev Jena, former Union Minister Srikant Jena and senior Congress MLA Nalini Kanta Mohanty told newspersons here that a special session of the house to deliberate the reservation issue was necessary in view of the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, dismissing the state government's petition for enhancing reservation up to 66.75 per cent.

''Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik must take the initiative to adopt a resolution urging the Centre to implement 27 per cent reservation in Orissa under the ninth schedule of the Constitution,'' Congress leaders said.

The OPCC president claimed that the Supreme Court judgment had exposed the apathetic attitude of the BJD-BJP government towards the welfare of the OBC who constituted 50 per cent of the total population in the state.

He alleged that the government deliberately did not bring to the notice of the Supreme Court the fact that necessitated 27 per cent reservation for the OBC. The Orissa government had passed a resolution in 1994 enhancing the ceiling of reservation for the OBC from the existing 11.25 per cent to 27 per cent.

The resolution was, however, challenged in the State Administrative Tribunal which ruled that under no circumstances could the reservation exceed 50 per cent in the state.

The Orissa government moved the apex court after the High Court upheld the verdict of the State Administrative Tribunal and dismissed the petition filed by the government challenging the order of the High Court.

The OPCC chief said the Congress would organise statewide agitational programmes to ensure 27 per cent reservation for the OBC. He said Orissa should be considered as an exception since the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes together constituted 38.5 per cent as against the national average of 22.5 per cent.

UNI