Tribal protest against deprivation of representation

The panchayat poll-bound Orissa is witnessing an uproar of protest held by Odisha Adivasi Kalyan Sangha, an organization of tribals who have shown a huge over reduction in their quote in panchayat elections.

The rally was held in the Bolangir district collector’s office on Monday, alleging that their community is being sidelined.Niranjan Bisi, a Sangha Leader, held up the fact that tribals of 23 of the state’s 30 districts would be sidelined as not even a single one of 195 blocks have a reserved post of sarpanch for the tribals. “In the 2017 panchayat elections, at least 2,300 posts of sarpanch in 23 districts were reserved for tribals, while 70 posts were earmarked for us for the posts of panchayat Samiti presidents.

But this time, we have completely forgotten to appease the OBC (Other Backward Classes) candidates, who are outnumbered by us,” Bisi said.

Gyan Das, director of Panchayat Raj Department, countered claimed, “as per the amended Orisha Gram Panchayat Act, no post of sarpanch should be reserved for tribals. So, to ensure that tribals get 22.8% reservation, we have reserved posts of ward members in the rest of the districts,”.

The protest became a hotbed for the BJP as well, which came in support of the tribal leaders, alleging a faulty reservation list in panchayat elections. Party members alleged that not even one single seat has been reserved for the OBC or Adivasi category for the post of sarpanch.

State BJP General Secretary, Prithviraj Harichandan said, “With the present reservation setup, no ST candidate can file nominations in the non-scheduled districts. Even the SC reservations have been done arbitrarily. I hope the State government rectifies its mistake in the final reservation list otherwise we will drag them to the Court.”Countering the claims and allegation, BJD MLA Prashant Mudali said, “The BJD always tries to uplift the STs, SCs, and OBCs socially, financially, and politically.”

Updated by Preet Joshi