By IANS,
New Delhi : BJP leader Arun Jaitley Thursday urged the government to reconsider some provisions of the promotion quota bill, saying otherwise it would help people with doubtful integrity to be entitled to the benefit of promotion.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha after a walkout by the Samajwadi Party members after the Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, 2012, was taken up for consideration, the leader of opposition asked the ruling United Progressive Alliance to reconsider some of its provisions.
The bill seeks to provide impediment-free reservation in promotions in jobs to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
“I will urge the government to seriously reconsider this…If someone has doubtful integrity, then he will still be entitled to promotion,” Jaitley said.
He said the concept of reservation in promotion is not intended to be implemented in a manner that creates reverse discrimination.
“To say that no standards will be needed should be reconsidered,” he said, adding that it would have an adverse effect on the country.
“Efficiency of service is a constitutional requirement. The structure will collapse once the government agrees (to the new bill),” Jaitley said.
Jaitley said the Supreme Court had said that a state government will have to show existence of compelling reasons such as backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall administrative efficiency before making provision for reservation in promotion but the government had decided to bring about constitutional amendment bill.
He said if the government agrees to reconsider provisions in the bill related to Article 335 which deals with efficiency in administration, “the legislation will be judicious”.
He said the BJP was committed to social justice.
Earlier, Minister of State for Personnel V. Narayanasamy moved the bill for consideration of the house.