Nadda has ‘cordial discussions’ with one faction of anti-quota protesters

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Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda on Thursday (August 27, 2026) met with a delegation who were part of the Reservation Hatao Andolan demonstration on August 21. The RHA is against caste-based reservation and wants all quotas to be income-based instead.

Also read | ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’ solidifies into quota reforms/general category interest platform

In a twist, however, the delegation was headed by NEET aspirant Harsh Dubey, who has been distanced by other RHA leaders as a “plant” of the government, ever since he shared a platform with Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on August 22, claiming an assurance of attention from the Union government.

Mr. Nadda said that “cordial discussions were held” as per a “pre-determined schedule”, adding that he would meet with the anti-reservation activists again soon. Mr. Dubey called the meeting a “positive initiative for the welfare of all society”. Other popular RHA leaders, including Ajeet Bharti, Anuradha Tiwari and Neha Das, called Mr. Dubey a “plant” of the government to “divert from the real demands”, and asked Mr. Nadda to “stop playing these games”.

Mr. Nadda’s post on the talks did not mention the name of the movement or its goals, leading to a taunt from Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke . “What does the Prime Minister have to say about the movement of 21 August, whose name Mr. Nadda is not taking? The country wants to know,” he said.

Like the CJP, the RHA also began with social media mobilisation, harnessing the anger of general category students against reservations. Mr. Dipke seemed to be alluding to the fact that BJP leaders themselves have employed similar anti-reservation rhetoric, notably on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 general election. The Opposition had jumped on these remarks and claimed that the BJP’s call to cross 400 seats in Parliament was aimed at changing the Constitution to remove reservations. Despite denials by top BJP leaders, this narrative was seen as part of reason for the BJP’s failure to secure a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.

With Uttar Pradesh scheduled to elect a new Assembly next year, reservations are an electorally sensitive topic. Aam Aadmi Party Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj too asked Mr. Nadda to “shed light” on the main demand of the protesters, noting, “The main demand of the BJP Savarna Morcha movement was a reconsideration of reservations.”

Mr. Dubey had played a key role in gaining police permission for the RHA protest on August 21, but the Delhi police successfully cleared the protesters from Jantar Mantar by the end of the day. The next day, Mr. Dubey was seen in a press conference in Lucknow with the U.P. Deputy CM, who assured the movement that the Centre would engage with them soon. Mr. Dubey also appears to have signed a letter after meeting Mr. Pathak, in which the word “reservations” was not even mentioned, sparking accusations of a dilution of RHA demands.