NEW DELHI: During the 2015 Bihar assembly elections, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, in an interview had called for a social review of the reservation policy. This statement by Bhagwat, despite a clarification being issued by the RSS, was turned by the opposition leaders into an indication of RSS’ intent to abolish reservations in the country. After the BJP lost the elections, this entire episode was seen as one of reasons that contributed to the party’s poor performance in the state. This was also accepted at that time by former Union Minister C.P. Thakur, . who admitted that Bhagwat’s statement had impacted the election result.
Nine years later, rhetoric and statements from members of the opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, that the BJP has given the slogan of “Abki baar 400 paar” with the aim to secure 400 seats so that it can amend the Constitution and remove caste based reservations, are becoming common.
Last week, the Aam Aadmi Party said that if BJP won the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, it would “abolish the reservation”. AAP Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh, while addressing a public gathering in Delhi said: “BJP MPs are openly talking about changing the Constitution. That’s why BJP is demanding over 400 seats. If BJP comes to power, it will change the Constitution and end reservation for Dalits, tribals, and backward classes.” Political statements along similar lines are coming from Congress leaders as well, claiming that the BJP will remove reservations.
However, according to multiple BJP leaders who are active on the ground, this “misinformation campaign” and “rumour-mongering” by the Opposition has so far failed to make any impact on the ground or gain any traction among the voters. BJP sources said that so far this issue has not become a major concern for the party that it would require a concentrated effort and detailed discussion on how to handle it.
But the fact that it has forced one of BJP’s top leaders, Home Minister Amit Shah to repeatedly speak out on these issues and pledge BJP’s commitment to reservations while criticizing the Congress for “spreading lies” suggests that the matter is likely to gain more prominence among BJP strategists in the coming days.
Since the last one week, Shah has spoken on this issue on at least five occasions, including in public rallies and media interviews.
According to a senior party functionary, there were no reports of these allegations by Opposition leaders making any impact on the voters but given the fact that this “misinformation campaign” was now being talked about regularly by the media, it is likely to be taken up by the leadership.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, party national spokesperson and one of the party’s prominent Dalit faces, Dr Guru Prakash Paswan said that the question of amending the Constitution or removing reservation was being spread by the Congress and AAP to spread confusion among the voters for electoral gains.
“There is no truth in such allegations. Such baseless rumours have been denied categorically and repeatedly by our party leadership. AAP, for one should not talk about BJP’s approach towards the Backwards. AAP had the opportunity to send SC, ST candidates to the Rajya Sabha, but it did not find anyone suitable enough from these communities.
Congress has been spreading this misinformation for a long time now, election after election it does such acts, and no one takes the words of their leaders seriously. The BJP has shown through actions, led by examples set by my leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi on how deeply we care about the downtrodden,” Paswan said. Paswan, in a bid to counter these “false” political narratives, has been creating videos and sharing them among his circle and voters across the country.
“It is something that I am doing as a party worker to strengthen the party so that citizens don’t fall victim to the misinformation exercise that is being carried out by the Opposition leaders,” he said.
This system of affirmative action termed reservation was introduced during British rule in the early 1900s to provide for adequate representation in education, employment and government schemes for individuals who belong to historically disadvantaged groups. As per the 2011 census, Scheduled Castes (SC) constitute 17% of India’s population, while Scheduled Tribes account for nearly 9% of the total population. In the Lok Sabha, while 84 seats are reserved for SC candidates, 47 are reserved for those belonging to the ST.