Bhubaneswar: Opposition Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) members created a ruckus in the Odisha Assembly on Saturday over alleged denial of adequate reservation to ST, SC and OBC candidates in admission to MBBS and BDS courses, following which the House adjourned at 4 pm. Congress legislature party leader Ramchandra Kadam raised the issue during Zero Hour and alleged that students from Scheduled Tribes (ST), Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) were losing many seats as the administration had given them ‘fair quota’. He alleged that ST, SC and OBC constitute 94 per cent of the state’s population and are not given adequate reservation as provided for in the Constitution. Kadam said that though the proportion of ST and SC population in the state is 38.75 per cent, they are given only 20 per cent reservation in admissions. Similarly, OBCs, who constitute 50 per cent of the state’s population, could not get any reservation. The Congress leader alleged that OBCs are entitled to 27 per cent reservation for admission to MBBS and BDS courses but they are not given any. Kadam alleged that the government has made 10 per cent reservation for the sector economically weaker from the general category, which constitutes only six per cent of the population. He alleged that due to unfair reservations, ST and SC categories lose around 300 seats, while OBCs lose around 376 seats. Kadam said, therefore, the admission process from August 29 should be cancelled and a fresh notification should be issued after making proper reservation for students from ST, SC and OBC categories.
OBC students should get 11.25 per cent reservation: BJD
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Arun Kumar Sahu also expressed concern over the issue and demanded that OBC students be given at least 11.25 per cent reservation in admissions as given to them in recruitments. However, BJP member Tankadhar Tripathi criticised the BJD and Congress for raising issues of ST, SC and OBC in the name of vested political interests. He asked what the BJD government did for these categories during its 24 years of rule in Odisha. Demanding action from the Assembly Speaker on this issue, opposition members approached the podium and demonstrated and raised slogans against the BJP.
The proceedings of the first hearing could not be held for the fifth consecutive day
Due to the row by BJD and Congress members, the first half proceedings had to be postponed for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday. Despite repeated appeals by Speaker Surma Padhi for smooth functioning of the House, MPs from opposition parties continued the row. Due to this, the Speaker had to adjourn the House proceedings twice. First the Speaker adjourned the session for an hour and then till four o’clock.
Motion to condemn the insult to the President of the Assembly approved
In the case of the insult to the Speaker on Friday, the House on Saturday passed a no-confidence motion. BJP MLAs Manas Dutt and Siddhant Mohapatra raised this issue and said that questions are being raised about the security of the Speaker. He demanded that the opposition apologise for the action on Friday. The ruling party leaders moved a no-confidence motion on this issue. The no-confidence motion was passed in the vote amidst uproar from the opposition MLAs. Following this, due to the uproar, the House sessions were suspended for an hour.
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