Jat community should get reservation: Amarinder Singh

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh Sunday said the Jat community should get reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The Congress leader was unanimously appointed president of the All India Jat Maha Sabha at its executive meeting here.

After his appointment, he told reporters that the Jat Maha Sabha has been demanding reservation only for those who need it and not those who fall under the creamy layer category.

Quoting examples from Punjab, he said the educated youth belonging to the community were not finding jobs, and as a result getting trapped in various social evils like drug addiction.

"My preliminary inquiries from delegates coming from various states indicate that the situation there is also no different," he said.

He said the Jat Maha Sabha was a non-political organisation and that there were people in it who belonged to different political parties.

The former chief minister said several states like Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh have already provided reservation to the Jat community.

Delegates from Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttrakhand had gathered here to attend the executive meeting of the All India Jat Maha Sabha.