HYDERABAD: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that RSS has always supported reservations for certain groups and reiterated that the Sangh will continue to do so.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday alleged that the BJP and RSS have declared a war on the Constitution with the aim of scrapping reservations for SC, ST and OBC communities. “The RSS has a policy to abolish quotas by 2025,” the chief minister claimed at Gandhi Bhavan here. He reiterated the claim at a press conference here on Saturday and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was planning a surgical strike on quotas.
Bhagwat was speaking at an event at Vidya Bharti Vignana Kendra in Ranga Reddy district where he said, “When I came to Hyderabad yesterday, I learnt that there is a video in circulation that says Sangh pretends to support the reservations only on the outside, but on the inside they oppose the reservations, and that we can never support the reservations outright publicly."
"There is no truth in this statement. Since the reservations have been introduced in the country as per the Constitutional provisions, Sangh has unconditionally supported all the reservations and it also holds the opinion that as long as the reservations are required for specific groups or as long as the social inequality exists, the reservations must be continued," he added.
The statement came amidst the row over reservations between the BJP and Congress, as the BJP declared that it would scrap the reservations for Muslims in Telangana if voted to power.
Chinna Jeeyar Swami who shared the dais with Mohan Bhagwat invoked the sentiments of the Ram Mandir as he said that the Hindus, following the ideology of Ram have embraced people with different values with open arms despite experiencing setbacks.
“We should never compromise on our values. Despite the harm that we have endured, we still accept and respect the people who hold different ideologies than ours and we always welcome them. We are open to accept everyone in the country and this is the tradition of our country. These are the values of Ram and it is only by following his values that peace and order can be established in the country," Jeeyar said.
He further stressed that was it for the first time in 75 years after independence that the country could get an able prime minister like Modi and that it was under his leadership that the country had made a mark on the global scale.
Sangh chief had opposed reservation policy in past, says Rahul gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said RSS chief Mohan Baghwat had expressed his opposition to quotas in the past. “RSS chief makes a statement that RSS is not against reservation. It was he (Mohan Bhagwat) who had made a statement that he was opposed to reservation,” Rahul said at a campaign rally in Daman in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu. He added that those who are against reservation are joining the BJP. “They welcome all those who are against reservation, and then he says he is not against reservation,” Rahul said