Even though the State Assembly was not in session on Saturday, nine SC and ST MlAs of Opposition Congress and BJP continued to sit on their dharna at the Speaker’s podium for the third consecutive day demanding a 38-per cent seat reservation for the two reserved categories’ students in the medical, engineering and other higher educational institutions.
“We will continue the dharan until our demand is fulfilled by the Government,” said agitating MlAs.
It may be noted that the MlAs had started the dharna in the House on Thursday after they were forcibly evicted by Assembly security personnel from the CM’s chamber.
On Friday morning, some of them prostrated before Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and some others spread out the lower portions of their shirts begging for implementation of the Odisha Reservation of Vacancies (ORV) Act.
The MlAs on the dharna are Rabinarayan Nayak, Gobinda Chandra Das and Duryodhan Majhi of the BJP and Dr Prafulla Majhi, Chandrasekhar Majhi, Bhujabal Majhi, Kailash Chandra Kulesika and Krushnachandra Sagaria of the Congress.