A protest by thousands of police constable aspirants in Bhubaneswar has brought renewed attention to age eligibility and reservation provisions in Odisha’s recruitment process for 7,268 constable posts. The demonstrators gathered outside the Odisha Uniformed Services Staff Selection Commission (OUSSSC) office before staging a demonstration at Gandhi Marg on Tuesday.
The aspirants first sought information about representations submitted to the OUSSSC on October 26. They later protested on the road, with visuals showing participants kneeling and performing sit-ups while holding their ears. Their demands centre on changes to the age limit, the allocation of reserved vacancies and the implementation of reservation provisions in the current recruitment notification.
The protesters alleged that the notification provides a five-year age relaxation for candidates from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes communities, as well as women. However, they claimed that no vacancies had been shown for reserved categories, particularly SEBC candidates, in 23 police districts. According to the aspirants, this has prevented eligible candidates from applying for the recruitment process.
They also questioned the difference between the government’s announced 11.25 per cent SEBC reservation and the two per cent quota mentioned in the notification. The claims were made during the protest and were not accompanied by a detailed response from the OUSSSC in the supplied report.
The agitation also covers recruitment to the Odisha Industrial Security Force, which the aspirants said is being undertaken after nearly a decade. They objected to the upper age limit being fixed at 23 years, arguing that candidates who were below 18 in 2016 have now crossed the eligibility threshold despite spending years preparing for the examination.
The protesters further alleged that discrepancies in recruitment notifications have previously forced candidates to approach the Orissa High Court, creating financial hardship and delays. State Congress Student Wing president Bibhuti Bhushan Mahapatra joined the demonstration and extended support to the aspirants.
A six-member delegation subsequently met officials at the Chief Minister’s Office. The aspirants said the government had sought two days to examine their grievances. The next response from the state government and any clarification from the OUSSSC will determine whether the recruitment notification is revised or the existing process continues.
