Reservation should continue till beneficiaries need it: RSS

Reservation is required because there is social and economic disparity in society, and should continue till its beneficiaries feel it is needed, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said here on Monday.

RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale added that the organisation strongly feels that temples, cremation grounds and water reservoirs should be open for all and not restricted to any specific caste.

"There is social and economic disparity in our society and therefore reservation is required. We totally support the reservation as mandated by the Constitution," he said at a press conference on the last day of the Sangh's three-day coordination meeting here.

Asked whether the RSS feels reservation should not continue indefinitely, Hosabale said it is for the beneficiaries of the system to decide. "Reservation should continue till its beneficiaries feel it is required," he said, clearing his organisation's stance on quotas. A Dalit organisation, he said, had written to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat applauding the Sangh's stand on ending discrimination in society.

The RSS strongly feels and has been working towards the belief that temples, cremation grounds and water reservoirs should be open for all, he said. Reservation was not on the agenda of the Sangh's coordination meeting and was not discussed. Over 200 delegates of 35 RSS affiliates attended the coordination meeting, the first after the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP working president J P Nadda and general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh also attended the meeting. Bhagwat recently suggested dialogue in a harmonious atmosphere between those who avail reservation benefits and those who don't.