Gujjars, Rajasthan ministers meeting fails to make headway

The first round of talks between protesting Gujjars and the Rajasthan government appointed three-member ministerial committee failed to make much headway on Saturday, except for another likely meeting on Monday.

The talks were held in a college in Bayana town, a few kilometres from the place where Gujjars are squatting on railway tracks.

"The ministers came to us without any homework... the talks did not make any headway. We are clear that we want five percent reservation under the SBC (special backward class) category and that should be within the upper limit of 50 percent reservation. The ministers had nothing to offer us... even no assurance," Himmat Singh, spokesperson of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti, told IANS.

"We are again going (to protest) on the railway tracks and will intensify our agitation. We are ready for talks but first they (the state government) should give us a detailed proposal," he said.

Rajasthan's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Hem Singh Bhadana told reporters that the meeting "was held in a cordial environment".

"We are likely to meet again on Monday in Jaipur," he said.

The ministerial team that held talks with a six-member delegation of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti, comprised Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore, Social Welfare Minister Arun Chaturvedi and Bhadana.

The Gujjars have been protesting in Bharatapur district for reservation in government jobs and educational institutes.

The samiti, led by Col. (retd) Kirori Singh Bainsla, is spearheading the agitation.

A similar sit-in by Gujjars in Pilu Ka Pura area in Bharatpur district has affected the movement of at least 60 trains so far, including those on the Delhi-Mumbai section, officials said.

The state roadways also cancelled some buses on the route where the Gujjars were protesting.

Gujjars, demanding reservation for better educational and job prospects, had staged violent protests between 2006-2008, in which at least 67 people lost their lives.