Govt to set up panel to examine Jat quota demand

Venkaiah Naidu panel asked to file report to find a solution soon, says Rajnath Singh

Yielding to pressure from agitating Jats, the government on Sunday night announced setting up of a committee under a senior central minister to examine the quota demand for the community in government jobs. Fresh incidents of arson and violence left two more dead, taking the toll in the eight-day stir to 12.

A late night announcement by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi said a committee headed by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu has been formed to look into the demand for reservation in central govt jobs for Jats.

“I would like to make things clear regarding the ongoing protest. Just now, we have formed a committee which will be headed by our senior Cabinet minister Venkaiah Naidu. The committee has been asked to file a comprehensive report to find a solution of the issue as soon as possible,” he told reporters.

“I appeal to the people of Haryana to help maintain calm and peace,” he said after a meeting he had with Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Manohar Parrikar to take stock of the situation in the state.

The meeting came shortly after a delegation of Jats had a meeting with the home minister where it was stated that a Bill would be brought in the coming session of the Haryana Assembly to give Other Backward Classes (OBC) status to Jats in the state.

Even as some fresh incidents of violence were reported, protesters started lifting blockades at some places late in the evening, following the Centre’s assurances.

Late evening reports said that blockades from some national and state highways including Saharanpur-Ambala at Yamunanagar, Paonta Sahib-Yamunanagar, Ambala-Kaithal, Saharanpur-Pipli-Kurukshetra, Zirakpur-Parwanoo and Ladwa-Shahbad were being lifted.