Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Sunday said the reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will continue as long as there is casteism.
Stating that the SCs and STs continue to face discrimination, he said to do away with caste-based reservation, the society will have to end casteism.
He said there is no question of doing away with reservations, unlike what is being suggested by some individuals.
The minister told reporters that the Constitution has given reservations to the SC/STs and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi support it.
Asked to react to remarks by RSS publicity chief Manmohan Vaidya, who called for a review of reservation policy, he said: "Opposition to reservation for SC/STs is not going to be accepted."
Athawale, who heads NDA ally Republican Party of India (A), said the RSS had also clarified that this was Vaidya's personal opinion and that the constitutionally provided reservations should continue.
Vaidya had said on Friday that even B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the Constitution, was not in favour of perpetual continuance of reservations and that the reservation policy should be reviewed.