BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should immediately order for initiation of caste survey process in the state and release the report before the 2024 elections. If it fails to conduct the caste survey within this period, the Congress will undertake this exercise after coming to power in 2024, said Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak on Wednesday.
In a press statement, Mr Patnaik said the state government should immediately convene a one-day special session of Odisha Legislative Assembly and pass a resolution for conducting caste survey.
“The Naveen Patnaik government must immediately convene a special session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and pass a unanimous resolution for caste survey as it was done in Bihar and the report of which was published on Gandhi Jayanti last. The survey will not only consider one’s caste but also one’s economic status. This will help devise further policies and plans for the development of all classes,” said Mr Pattanayak.
He further said, “The Bihar government has recently released the results of its recently concluded survey of castes in the state. It reveals that Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) constitute more than 63 per cent of the population of Bihar. But in Odisha, we don’t have a clear picture on the OBCs and EBCs. As a result, they are not getting due share in jobs and reservation in admission in educational institutions. This is a denial of social justice to them.”
In the absence of caste census, there is no proper estimate for the population of OBCs, various groups within the OBCs, and others in Odisha. The Mandal Commission estimated the OBC population in the country at 52 per cent. And, in Odisha, the OBC and SEBC population is said to be around 54 per cent.
“Once, the caste survey is complete in Odisha, we will be able to know the exact number of different categories of people. Accordingly, we will be in a position to make plans for their socio-economic development,” observed Mr Patnaik.
