Bihar: Reservation in government jobs to continue, says Ramdas Athawale

GAYA: Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale has emphatically reassured the SC/ST and OBCs that the ongoing reservation facility in government jobs will, in no case be tinkered with and they will continue to get population-based reservation in the jobs, as has been the practice so far.
Athawale was talking to media persons in Gaya on Wednesday afternoon.
Asked about the Union government’s response to job reservation in the light of the recent SC judgement, saying that reservation was not a fundamental right, the Union minister said the government will do everything possible to ensure justice to the disadvantaged sections.
“The government is seriously seized with the matter and an appropriate response will soon be made to clear the air. Opposition parties were engineering panic for narrow political gains,” alleged the Union minister.
The minister said the interests of the SC/STs and other disadvantaged groups were fully safe in the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The PM is committed to all-round upliftment of the hitherto deprived sections. The SC/STs figured high in the PM’s priority list,” Athawale said.
Playing down the impact of the Delhi elections on the national politics and equations within the NDA, Athwale said, “Delhi election will have absolutely no impact on national politics.”
Refusing to give credit to AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal for the landslide victory of his party in the Delhi assembly elections, Athawale said the Delhi voters fell in the freebie trap laid by CM Arvind Kejriwal. “The Delhi voters will soon repent their choice,” he said.