Ramdas Athawale urges Odisha CM to implement 27% OBC reservation in Higher Education

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale announced on Wednesday that he plans to write to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, requesting the implementation of a 27% reservation for OBC students in higher education.

Addressing the media, Athawale, who is the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, pointed out that many states across the country already offer this 27% reservation to OBC students.

Athawale, who is also the president of the Republican Party of India (RPI), emphasised his party's demand for a caste-based census to determine the population distribution of various communities.

The Union Minister also expressed concern over the rising number of atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in Odisha.

Currently on a two-day official visit to Odisha, Athawale spent his first day reviewing the implementation of various welfare schemes.

These include the Special Component Plan for Scheduled Castes, scholarships for SC/OBC students, the Atrocities Act for SC/ST, incentives for inter-caste married couples, hostels for SC/ST students, old age homes and pensions, and programs for the empowerment of persons with disabilities (PwDs).