In a protest rally in Jaipur, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that the Centre is imposing ‘RSS agenda’ and will soon announce the ‘abolition of reservation’.
According to this report, Gehlot said, “The way the central government is imposing the RSS agenda, the situation of the country is worsening. The day their agenda ends, then the BJP government will end reservation, just like demonetisation, they will announce the abolition of reservation.”
According to reports, the Jaipur protest was organised by the tribal, OBC and scheduled castes wings of Congress.
The Rajasthan CM mentioned Bihar, and the comment made by Mohan Bhagwat during the Bihar Legislative Assembly election in 2015. He said: “RSS people say, after 70 years, there is no need for reservation. During the Bihar elections, Mohan Bhagwat said this but later after the elections, they say that they did not mean that.”
Gehlot added that the Centre needed to make Rajasthan the role model in the implementation of reservation in promotion in states across India.
The report adds Gehlot as saying: “61 per cent of the people of the country are against the move, in spite of this, they are taking decisions against public opinion. Today SC/STs are suspicious of the intention of the Central Government.”
According to a report in The Hindu website, Gehlot accused the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for taking ‘arbitrary decisions, leading to an environment of suspicion in the country.’
The protest rally, which was aimed at addressing the issue of providing reservation in appointments or promotions after the apex court ruling pertaining to states, Gehlot expressed concerns on the Muslim minority population.
The Hindu report quotes him as saying: “Their nationalism is pseudo-nationalism. Their only aim is to win elections by instigating people. Where would 20 per cent Muslim minority population go,” he said.
The BJP at the Centre has said that it is not a party to the legal battle, is studying the matter, will take appropriate decisions, and that the Opposition is politicising the issue, as per The Business Standard report.
India Today reports on the attack launched by the Rajasthan CM on the Centre at the same rally. It quotes him as saying:
The rally was also attended by Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
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