Can India progress only if it continues to follow a policy of reservations?

Did she genuinely mean that?

It is possible she has been misquoted. She will certainly claim she has. But at a recent function at Jharkhand, Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan said: “Can India progress only if it follows a continued policy of reservation and quota?” She said she was not opposed to reservations but it was worth thinking about. According to the Speaker, B R Ambedkar had spoken of giving reservations only for 10 years so that via affirmative action, the socially backward could stand on their own feet. At the same public function, Mahajan said every Indian should think about how to take Indian society and civilisation ahead. But everyone needed to introspect about how Indians were doing this. Mahajan is elected from Madhya Pradesh where there is a strong movement for the rights of the upper castes and a demand that the government protect the entitlements of upper castes as well.

Missing local element

Bharatiya Janata Party is conducting a massive survey to assess the standing of current Members of Parliament and the basis on which the party should award its nomination. For this purpose, a team of 40 retired officials from Gujarat has fanned out in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The survey includes a form where the opinions of 1,000 people, along with mobile phone numbers of 200 people contacted will be included (just to ensure no fudging). The team is also assessing issues that people believe are most crucial. The local party system is secondary at the moment as the work is being carried by the central committee under instructions from party president Amit Shah.