Reservation right, but not quota politics, says RSS

Ahead of by-polls and Assembly elections in four states, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said the Sangh Parivar supports reservation, but is opposed to quota politics.

Bhagwat was hitting out at caste-based parties that continue to dominate the political landscape in UP and Bihar. But, two regional parties in UP—the BSP and SP—had received a setback in the parliamentary polls given the fact that the BJP was able to wean away the dalit and OBC votes, a development that was attributed by political pundits to their growing enchantment with community politics.

“We support reservation. As long as there is inequality in society, reservation is needed. To bring up those suffering from this inequality as equals, we need reservation. But there should not be any politics on that,” said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a book launch function in the national capital.

The three books—“Hindu Khatik Jati”, “Hindu Charmakar Jati” and “Hindu Valmiki Jati”—have been authored by former BJP MP Bizay Sonkar Shastri, and attempt to affirm reserved castes’ religious identity by prefixing “Hindu” before each of the three titles. 

The RSS chief was of the view that the underprivileged classes have tolerated injustice for too long, and it was now the turn of the more fortunate to treat as equals. 

“The reasons for which they tolerated, those reasons are no longer here now, as we have gained our independence. Now our duty is to treat them as equals. To bring them up in stature, if for 100 years one has to tolerate injustice, so be it,” he said.

Bhagwat virtually set a social agenda for the Narendra Modi government when he said in the presence of two Union ministers that a development-aspirant society cannot allow inequality to persist for long after Independence.