Sharad blames Modi, Bhagwat for raking up caste issue

Seeking to shift the blame on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat for raking up the caste issue in Bihar polls, the JD(U) on Thursday said “no one can review and remove” the existing reservation policy till the caste system is prevalent in India and dared the NDA government to call a special session of Parliament to discuss its eradication.

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav also dismissed BJP’s attempts to distance itself from Bhagwat’s remarks on the review of reservation policy and reminded that the saffron party had taken out ‘Kamandal’ to oppose ‘Mandal’ way back in 1990. “When Mandal report was implemented, the BJP had taken out ‘Kamandal’. It had taken up Rathyatra on the Ram Temple issue, soon after the VP Singh government announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, providing 27 per cent reservation to OBCs in jobs and education,” he said.

He added, “It was nothing but a covert attempt to oppose reservation. Now, they are distancing themselves from Bhagwat’s remarks due to political reasons, but the BJP has <g data-gr-id="13">track</g> record of opposing reservation.”