Haryana government holds talks with Jats ahead of Delhi protest

With the agitating Jat community threatening to lay siege to national capital Delhi on March 20, the Haryana government on Thursday held talks with Jat leaders in Panipat and claimed that the discussions were "positive".

Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, who led the Haryana government panel in the talks with Jat leaders, said that a final breakthrough was likely to be achieved by Friday.

The Jat leaders are likely to meet Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar in New Delhi on Friday.

They were earlier in talks with a five-member panel of senior government officers but the talks had remained inconclusive.

The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) had earlier announced that the community would intensify its agitation by taking their protest to Delhi on March 20.

The Jat leaders said that they would gherao entry points of Delhi from seven sides.

The AIJASS, led by Jat leader Yashpal Malik, has been agitating to press for its demands in Haryana since January 29. The agitation completed 47 days on Thursday.

Talks between the state government and the Jat leaders hit a roadblock last month as the Haryana government made it clear that it has no jurisdiction to withdraw cases being investigated by the CBI against some Jat leaders over violence during the agitation last year.

Haryana Chief MInister Manohar Lal Khattar accused the Jat leaders of increasing their demands and changing goalposts.

Their demands include reservation for Jats, jobs to the next of kin of those killed in violence in the Jat agitation last year, compensation to those injured, withdrawal of cases against them and action against the officers, who ordered action against the Jats, among others.

Violence during the agitation last year had left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Government and private property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was damaged during the violence in February 2016.

--IANS

js/nir