RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat not against quota: Amit Shah

PATNA: BJP president Amit Shah on Monday held Uttar Pradesh government responsible for lynching of a man at Dadri over beef rumour, saying it was a matter of law and order that fell in the domain of the state government concerned.
Shah also downplayed the issue of writers returning their Sahitya Akademi awards in protest against growing intolerance and restricted space for freedom of choice in the country, especially in the backdrop of recent killing of Kannada writer and rationalist MM Kalburgi.“Writers while returning their awards have cited the incidents of Dadri and the killing of Kalburgi. The two incidents occurred in the non-BJP ruled states – one in Utttar Pradesh that has Samajwadi Party government and the other in Congress-ruled Karnataka,” Shah told reporters here on Monday.
Acting at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah had on Sunday delivered a stern reprimand to saffron motormouths for their controversial comments on issues like the Dadri lynching and beef bans, asking them to immediately stop making inflammatory statements, which he said deflected attention from Modi's development agenda. Those summoned to the BJP office in Delhi included Haryana chief minister ML Khattar, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan, MLA Sangeet Som and Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj.
Shah’s meeting with saffron hardliners also assumed significance in the light of the crucial Bihar assembly elections, the results of which would have a great impact on upcoming West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh polls. In Bihar also, the Mahagathbandhan functionaries have been trying to corner BJP over Dadri lynching.
On reservation issue, Shah said the PM and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat have already made their stands clear on the controversy. “The PM has clarified his stand. Bhagwat had never advocated scrapping of reservation. On Sunday, the RSS also clarified its stand on the issue,” Shah said.
RSS regional in-charge Mohan Singh had on Sunday said the Sangh Parivar was “committed” to preserving the existing framework of reservation that has constitutional sanction. He had also said that the RSS believed in “social justice and social homogeneity.”
Asked why the Rajasthan and Haryana governments tweaked quota provisions, Shah said, “If the BJP-led NDA came to power in Bihar, it will not tinker with the existing reservation policy.” He also claimed that no tinkering has been done in Rajasthan.
In the backdrop of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s claim that RSS is a “supreme body” whose directive is binding on all its affiliates, including the BJP, Shah said, “RSS is doing its own work. We are doing our own work. The relation between the two is as it should be. There is no contradiction between the two,” Shah said.