Mayawati to RSS chief Bhagwat: Better if you renounce your anti-reservation mindset

A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat called for a “conversation” between those who support reservation and those who oppose it, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati came down heavily on him suggesting, “RSS should renounce its anti-reservation mindset”.

Speaking at the concluding session of Gyanotsav - a programme on competitive exams organised by the RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in New Delhi, Bhagwat suggested for a “conversation in a harmonious atmosphere between those in favour of quota and those against it.”

“Those who favoured reservation should speak keeping in mind the interests of those who were against it, and similarly those who opposed it should do the vice versa,” said Bhagwat.

Criticising Bhagwat for his comment, Mayawati said on Twitter, “The RSS saying that there should be an open-hearted debate on the issue of reservations of SC/ST and OBC creates a deadly situation of suspicion, which is not necessary”.

Terming reservation as a “humanist constitutional” system, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said that tampering with the idea of reservation was “inappropriate and unjust.”

Bhagwat’s comment on reservation has put BJP in the dock. In the light of Bhagwat’s fresh comment on reservation, there are apprehensions in the BJP that it may harm the party’s electoral prospect in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana where assembly elections are due at the end of this year.

In an attempt to cool off the controversy, several BJP leaders were quoted as saying by media that the BJP has always been in favour of the reservation and it will continue to do so.