Gujjar protest to continue as talks with Rajasthan govt fail

Around 500-700 members of the community are present at the railway tracks near Pilukapura in the district. (Source: Mahim Pratap Singh)

The meeting between representatives of the Gujjar community and Rajasthan government today ended in a deadlock as the community leaders accused the government of not coming up with concrete proposal to fulfil their demand of 5 per cent quota in government jobs.

“The talks have failed because the ministers came without any clear proposal to address our demands,” Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla told reporters after the meeting.

Spokesperson of the ‘Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti’ Himmat Singh told PTI that the agitation would be intensified if the government did not come up with a solid proposal or formula to provide reservation to Gujjars under the legal limit of 50 per cent.

“The agitation is on and will be intensified after discussion with our people,” he said.

The meeting was held in Bayana town this evening between a delegation of Gujjars led by their leader Bainsla and a committee of ministers comprising Rajendra Rathore, Arun Chaturvedi and Hem Singh Bhadana.

After the meting, Rathore said that another round of meeting would take place on Monday in Jaipur.

However, Gujjar leaders did not confirm whether they would attend the meeting and returned to the agitation venue after the meeting.

Bainsla took the decision to hold talks with the government yesterday following which the meeting was planned.

Meanwhile, around 500-700 members of the community are present at the railway tracks near Pilukapura in the district, a police officer said.

As the number of people on the track dwindled yesterday, Bainsla asked the community members last evening to gather maximum people on the track to build pressure on the government.

Train movement on the Delhi-Mumbai tracks has been disrupted since Thursday evening when the Gujjars began their agitation to demand five per cent reservation in government jobs, within the legal limit of 50 per cent.

The agitation has resulted in cancellation and diversion of many trains passing through the route.

Source:: Indian Express