RSS and BJP discuss key issues

The RSS top brass, including Bhaiyya Joshi, Dattatreya Hosabale, Krishna Gopal and A. Deshpande, on Tuesday held a meeting with senior BJP leaders, including party president Amit Shah. This meeting was the follow-up to the RSS’ Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) meet which recently concluded in Naguar, Rajasthan. The RSS conclave had stressed on education, health and economy. BJP general secretary (organisation) Ramlal and general secretary Murlidhar Rao, who was earlier associated with the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, were also present during the meeting.

Sources disclosed issues, including the BJP’s just-concluded national executive meeting and various programmes that will be undertaken by the Sangh Parivar affiliates this year, also came up for discussion.

On the agriculture front, the RSS wants that initiatives taken by the Narendra Modi government, including the crop insurance scheme, should be highlighted. Coordination between the government and Sangh Parivar affiliates on issues, including highlighting the government’s people-centric schemes. were also discussed. Mr Deshpande discussed education reforms with Mr Shah. The BJP president is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apprise him of the issues discussed with the RSS top brass.

The RSS and the BJP leadership, it is learnt, also discussed about the coming Assembly elections in five states, including Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. The RSS is actively involved in election-related strategies in both Kerala and Assam.

Under attack for curbing freedom of speech after Rohith Vemula’s suicide and the JNU row, the BJP has been maintaining that it follows the ideology of nationalism and will not tolerate anything anti-national.

Reservation and dalit outreach programmes were also discussed during the meeting. At its Nagaur conclave, the RSS had suggested strengthening the reservation system and also disapproved of quota demands by the “affluent” sections.

It had also favoured a study to ascertain whether the deserving backward classes are actually getting the quota benefits or not.