Government has no intention to end reservation: Arun Jaitley

RSS had said that demands for reservation by affluent sections of society only reflected deviation from spirit of the Constitution

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The government on Monday reiterated in the Rajya Sabha that it does not intend to change the reservation policy in the country.

The clarification came as the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party sought to know from the government about the issue, after the RSS said demand for reservation by the affluent sections of society only reflected deviation from the spirit of the Constitution.

The issue was raised soon after the house met, but Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the RSS is a private organisation and members should not be concerned.

"There is no difference in RSS and government," Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav said while describing it as a "conspiracy to end reservation".

BSP leader Mayawati alleged it was a plan for systematic destruction of reservation.

Leader of the House Arun Jaitley, however, clarified that the government has no intention to end reservation.

"The government policy is clear, reservation will continue and the proposal you are talking about does not say what you are saying," said Jaitley.

Mayawati, however, said that the RSS has sought reservation on economic, and not social basis.

"I want to remind the leader of the house, in Indian constitution there are three criteria - social, education and economic backwardness. Sadly, every other day RSS is giving statement that reservation should be given on economic basis and not social," she said, to which Jaitley immediately responded: "This is not going to happen."

The RSS on Sunday said demands for reservation by the affluent sections of society only reflected deviation from the spirit of the Constitution.

"Reservation has helped weaker sections of the society and if the affluent sections demand reservation, it does not sound good," RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi told media persons at Nagaur, Rajasthan.