Ratlam bypoll: Congress rakes up quota issue, BJP trashes it

The reservation issue raised by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, which generated much heat during the Bihar Assembly elections campaign, is now being made a major poll plank by Congress in the upcoming by-polls to Ratlam Lok Sabha (reserved) constituency here against the BJP.

The by-election is caused by the death of BJP's Dilip Singh Bhuria who won the seat in the last Lok Sabha polls.

While the ruling BJP is on the back-foot and forced to explain to the voters of the tribal-dominated constituency that reservation would not be scrapped at any cost, Congress harps that the RSS, being the fountain-head of the saffron party, will junk the existing quota system.

Madhya Pradesh BJP chief Nandkumar Chauhan, who is camping at the constituency in Jhabua, has frequently touched upon the issue of reservation saying the party will never scrap it in present form.

He has alleged that the statement of RSS on reservation has been "distorted by the Congress, which is playing politics over it".

On the other hand, state Congress senior vice president Raja Pateria has said the reservation issue is going to be his party's major poll plank for the bypoll.

"We are going to reach every tribal household and caution them that the BJP is against their social, economic and political uplift and is going to scrap reservation in the present form, as suggested by Bhagwat," Pateria said.

He charged the Sangh Parivar with "double-speak" on the reservation issue with the RSS calling for a review of it while BJP is claiming that it wants to continue it in the present form.

"The RSS is running the NDA government at the Centre like a puppet," he alleged while claiming that "Bhagwat is supreme in the Sangh Parivar and he calls the shots."

"RSS and BJP ideology focuses on promoting 'varna dharma' (caste system)," Pateria claimed, alleging that the Sangh Parivar is against the social and economic uplift of tribal and dalits.

However, countering the allegations, Chauhan, during electioneering in the constituency, said the Congress will not succeed in its designs to confuse the voters on the reservation issue.

The Congress will not get anything by politicising the reservation issue and "we are going to win the election 101%," he said.

He also mentioned that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at a function recently in Bhopal had asserted categorically that no one ("koi mai ka laal") can scrap the reservation till he is the Chief Minister and BJP is in power.