Reservation on economic criteria: Former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday urged Parliament to reconsider whether reservation should continue based on caste or it should be changed to economic criteria.
Participating in a discussion on the “Glorious Journey of 75 Years of the Constitution of India” in Rajya Sabha, Deve Gowda said, “The House itself has to apply its mind on what all happened in the past and whether we should give reservation only on the basis of poverty in this country.” People are suffering “even with the reservations that we have given in the past and it has not lifted the people who are still suffering for two-square meals a day”, he said.
The former prime minister suggested that the House should consider whether reservation should continue as it has been, or if it should focus on those who are most impoverished and whose living conditions are the most dire.
“If the House thinks over and the leaders think over, this can be thought over by the prime minister (Narendra Modi) before taking any decision on the reservation,” Deve Gowda said.
He said the Constitution drafted by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar has withstood the test of time.
Referring to Leader of the House J P Nadda’s speech before him, Deve Gowda said it was a “thought-provoking speech” on reservation and the various challenges the country has faced over the past 75 years.
(With PTI Inputs)