FILE photo: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat
As 22-year-old politician Hardik Patel sought over the weekend to escalate his agitation for quota in government jobs and colleges for Gujarat's wealthy Patel community, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS has suggested a review of the country's reservation policy.
Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the RSS, which is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, said quota has for years been used as a political tool and suggested that a committee made up of members who are "committed for social equality," be set up to examine who needs the benefit of reservation and for how long.
"The non-political committee like autonomous commissions should be the implementation authority; political authorities should supervise them for honesty and integrity," he told RSS magazines 'Organiser' and 'Panchjanya' in an interview.
The RSS chief said the policy of reservation followed now is not what the authors of the Indian Constitution had in mind. "If we would have implemented this policy as envisaged by the Constitution makers instead of doing politics over it, the present situation would not have arrived. Since inception it has been politicised," he said.
Amid criticism from opposition parties, the RSS has pointed out that Mr Bhagwat has emphasised "weaker sections of the society should get reservation as per the spirit of the Constitution."
Hardik Patel is leading an agitation for the inclusion of the influential Patels or Patidars among castes in Gujarat that benefit from affirmative action. Last month, he brought Ahmedabad to a stop with a massive rally. His
brief detention that evening led to violence in many places in the state.
He was
arrested again on Saturday after he attempted to hold a protest rally in Surat.
Hardik Patel's protests have been aimed at the BJP, which rules both at the Centre and the state, where
Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has rejected the Patels' demand.