The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday clarified its position on reservation policy to douse political conflagration erupted as a result of a statement issued by its chief Mohan Bhagwat which incidentally threatened to derail mission Bihar campaign of the political party ideologically close to it — the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) — and exposed the Sangh to criticism from other political parties.  

The clarification, however, came attached with the justification with regard to the objective vis-à-vis achievements of the reservation policy. The RSS chief had earlier gone on record to say that reservation has for long been used as a political tool and suggested an apolitical committee be set up to decide who needs the facility and for how long.

Speaking on the sidelines of a three-day conclave at Ranchi, Sah Sarkaryavah of the RSS, Dattatreya Hosabale said, "Constitutionally provided reservation should continue. For RSS it is an article of faith and RSS also says that reservation should be implemented completely and steps should also be taken to ensure that it is not politicised."

The RSS family is meeting here for the executive body meet to discuss various proposals and frame policies for the organisation. The three-day meet started on Friday and will culminate till November 1.

The conclave was inaugurated by Sangh chief Mohan Bhagat. Hosabale condemned counter statements issued by various political leaders and rubbished the remarks as an attempt to twist the statement to give it a different meaning. The Sangh also opposed religion-based reservation on the ground of missing consensus even among the makers of the Constitution.

"That the RSS is against reservation does not feature anywhere in his (Bhagwat's) statement. Twisting the statement doesn't help," maintained Hosabale, adding "Sangh also says that this (religion based reservation) will go against the constitutional makers."

The Sangh also broke silence over criticism on various issues, including the charges of vitiating communal harmony being faced by the BJP and expressed its support for organisations against religious conversion. Hosabale, the additional general secretary of RSS, derided critics for being overly critical of the Sangh and advised them to not "teach them the lesson of tolerance as this is a lesson being learnt for last 90 years and they are committed to the unity and integrity of the country".

"Today people who are losing in their business of politics are getting desperate and are holding RSS accountable for everything. They must understand that the RSS is not a punching bag," said the additional general secretary soon after the inauguration ceremony of the conclave.

The conclave is being held at Sarla Birla School and around 350-400 members, including the top Sangh functionaries, prant pracharaks will be discussing various proposals that will be tabled before the committee for evolving a common view on those proposals.

On the occasion, the RSS claimed that it becoming popular among youths and students as membership request in last three years exhibited upward trend. The Sar Karyavah also delved upon the RSS' efforts to register their presence.