Bhubaneswar, Dec 31 (IANS): Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday reiterated his request to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for reservation for OBC in public recruitments and educational institutions, and for SEBC in educational institutions.

In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Pradhan said the indecision and delay displayed by the state government in taking affirmative action for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Socially Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) is a glaring disservice to the spirit of balancing scales of socio-economic development in the state.

Pradhan wrote the letter days after the state government approved a proposal for enacting reservations for government school students in medical and engineering colleges.

He said OBCs and SEBCs constitute a considerable portion of the total population in Odisha who have been historically deprived of opportunities in the field of education and employment thereby scuttling the socio-economic development of these disadvantaged communities.

"However, I remain hopeful, as I have been for the past many months, that you will eventually accord long-overdue priority to needs of Odisha's large disadvantaged OBC and SEBC population and positively enact affirmative action for their rightful representation in the field of education and public employment," said the Minister.

Earlier, Pradhan had written letters two times to the Chief Minister in this regard.