Even as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday said that he would meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Friday, Samajwadi Party State president Rabi Behera urged Patnaik to take up his party’s longstanding demand of inclusion of the Odisha Reservation of SEBC Vacancies Act 2008 in the IX Schedule of the Constitution with the Union Home Minister.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Behera reminded him that the Act passed in the State Assembly unanimously is currently lying in the Home and Social Justice and Empower Ministries awaiting approval for the last five years.
“Though you have written several letters to various Ministries on many issues, you have taken up this matter with the concerned Ministries and thus ignored the interest of around 54 per cent people of the State,” Behera stated and urged the Chief Minister to take up the demand this time with Singh in greater interests of backward communities.
Behera stated that this is appropriate time that Centre would consider Odisha demand as it has recently included five per cent reservation for Gujjars in the IX schedule.