MYSURU: Speaking out against the call by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat for a harmonious debate on the country’s reservation system, veteran dalit leader and BJP MP V Srinivasa Prasad on Tuesday said that he was not in favour of Bhagwat’s comment.Prasad said that there was no need for a discussion with those opposing reservation. “They should start a discussion on inhuman social evils like untouchability which is in practise and not on reservation. I differ with him on the issue,” he told TNIE.
He said that his stance would not change if the BJP decided to support Bhagwat’s demand for a debate. “Untouchability is still in practise. It has made civil society bow its head in shame. Reservation should not be removed till the time untouchability is present,” he said. Prasad also said that the Union Government must look at forming a commission on the lines of the Mandal commission to study petitions and recommendations from state governments, to include names to the Scheduled Caste list.
He also said that while he was not against internal reservation, it was time that all castes, considered untouchables, joined hands and came out in the open with their demands. “There must be a scientific socio-economic study before the decision to include castes in the list is taken,” he said.
On the topic of the appointment of three Deputy Chief Ministers in the state, Prasad said that the move had only served to ‘create a storm’ among the seniors in the BJP. He was addressing reporters later when he said that the move had sent a wrong signal to the people of Karnataka.
“What is the need for creation of three posts when it is not a Constitutional post? It is created only for political convenience,” he said adding that the government must have focused instead on giving good governance. He asked party members to not fight over posts and think instead of the disqualified MLAs. “How would you (BJP) have formed the government without the support of these 17?” he asked.
Siddu original disgruntled MLA
Lashing out against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Prasad said that he was the original disgruntled MLA. He pointed at Siddaramaiah having come out in the open and saying that he had written twenty letters to the then Cief MinisterH D Kumaraswamy which were not attended to.“He was the first to come out inthe open.”