Gujjars call off May 23 protest after talks with Rajasthan government

The Gujjar Aarakshan Andolan Samiti has called off its proposed agitation scheduled on May 23 after prolonged discussions with the Rajasthan government, it was announced on Sunday.

Following the talks on Saturday, the two parties reached a 16-point agreement and soon after, Samiti leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla (retd) announced the protest had been called off.

State minister Rajendra Rathore said that discussions with Gujjar leaders lasted for 10 hours, in two different segments.

He said that the pending demands of Gujjars will be resolved within a set time period and to ensure timely redressal, Additional Chief Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, J.C. Mohanti has been deputed as nodal offer to monitor the process at regular intervals.

Talking to IANS, Samiti leader Himmat Singh said the government has given its consent for the sub-division of the OBC quota as demanded by the community.

"We have been fighting for our rights since the last 13 years and are quite optimistic this time that our demands will be met. However, if they remain unresolved even after the deadline, we will protest against the government during the coming assembly elections," he added.

The agreement, a copy of which is with IANS, mentions that the Justice Rohini Commission, formed by the Central government for classification of OBCs, will invite Rajasthan and four other states - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh - on June 4 to discuss this issue and will submit its report soon.

"The state government will study the recommendations given by the commission and will eventually implement it accordingly," says the agreement.

The government also gave its consent to give one per cent reservation from December 9, 2016 to December 21, 2017 in government recruitments.

It was also decided that all criminal cases filed against Gujjars during agitation will be withdrawn.

The meeting was attended by state Ministers Arun Chaturvedi and Hem Singh Bhadana, Additional Chief Secretary Deepal Upreti and many other senior officials.

--IANS

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