PALAKKAD: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) stand on the implementation of a caste census is welcome, Kerala Muslim Conference general convenor A K Sultan has said. “The RSS should show zeal and put pressure on the Union government to sincerely implement the census,” he said while addressing the district committee of the organisation in Palakkad on Wednesday.

At the meeting, various leaders of the organisation asserted that reservation is a constitutional right and a stepping stone for socially and educationally backward communities (SEBC) to catch up with other advanced communities. “Denial of reservation is a violation of the Constitution,” they said.

The RSS on Monday made it clear that they are not against the census that ensures the constitutional rights of the citizens, but the data should never be used as a political tool. The Sangh’s stand was shared by their spokesperson Sunil Ambekar during a press conference held on the culminating day of the annual three-day Akhil Bharatiya Samanvay Baithak held for the first time in Kerala, in Palakkad.

Ambekar said that the RSS thinks that the caste census will be a well-established practice to get exact data for the welfare activities planning for the communities or castes which are lagging behind and for whom special attention is needed. “If sometimes the government needs the numbers, it (caste census) is a well-established practice. But it should be done only for the welfare of those communities and castes. It should not be used as a political tool for elections,” he had said.

The committee also demanded that the Union and state governments enact necessary legislation to implement population-based reservation in government services. MES district secretary A Jabbar Ali, K A Abdu Rabb, J Basheer Ahmed, K M Siddique, K M Najeeb, S Abdul Salam, K Hamza, Prof K Aboobaker and D Farooq Ahmad spoke, representing their respective organisations.