Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat reiterated the organization’s support for reservations on Sunday, saying that the Sangh Parivar has never opposed reservations for certain groups. Bhagwat made the remarks during a program at an educational institution, emphasising that reservations should be extended as long as they are necessary.
His remarks come in the backdrop of war of words between the BJP and Congress over reservations.
On Saturday, the Congress slammed as “false propaganda” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘snatching quotas’ remarks.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh countered Modi’s assertions, saying that it was the BJP, not the Congress, that opposed reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Ramesh said that the historical contributions of Congress leaders such as B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in implementing reservation policies.
In a video statement, Ramesh said, “The prime minister is repeatedly indulging in the false propaganda that the Congress is against the reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs and wants to snatch it away. This is absolutely false.”
“The reality is that the provisions in the Constitution for reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were made because of B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other Congress leaders. So, this was the contribution of the Congress,” Ramesh said.
He said in 1994 when P V Narasimha Rao was the prime minister, for the first time, 27 per cent reservation for OBCs was given in employment in central government and in 2006 when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister, 27 per cent reservation was made in higher education institutions for OBCs.
During election rallies in Araria and Munger Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar on Friday, Prime Minister Modi accused the opposition of attempting to “steal” reservations meant for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs) for the benefit of their preferred vote bank of Muslims.
He further claimed that the opposition parties aimed to introduce religion-based reservation if they were to win the Lok Sabha elections, contrasting his own goal of securing 400 seats to prevent such actions and safeguard the quotas of Dalits and Other Backward Classes.
In rallies held in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Modi portrayed himself as the ‘chowkidar’ (watchman) and a protective barrier against alleged Congress intentions to exploit people either through wealth redistribution or the imposition of an inheritance tax should the INDIA bloc come to power.
Last year in Nagpur, Bhagwat had said that reservations should continue as long as there is discrimination in society.