The Rajasthan government’s talks with Gujjars agitating for reservation in jobs and education did not yield any results on Monday, as the community members continued to occupy railway track in Bharatpur district. Gujjars were insisting on appointments to the backlog posts, which the government's representatives did not accept.
The blockade of the Delhi-Mumbai rail route at Peelupura village and the Bayana-Hindaun road near Chhonkra continued on Monday. A high alert was sounded in the Gujjar-dominated districts in view of Gujjar supremo Kirori Singh Bainsla’s threat to intensify the agitation and block more roads.
Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ashok Chandna held talks for two-and-a-half hours with Bainsla and other Gujjar leaders at the Suroth police station, situated 8 km away from Peelupura, in Karauli district. The talks ended without any conclusion, though Mr. Chandna assured that the community's interests would be protected.
Mr. Chandna later said the government had made the provisions which were possible under the rules and regulations and was willing to give assurance for further action within the framework of law. The agitating Gujjars were making the demands that could not be conceded with retrospective effect.
In addition to the appointments to the backlog posts between 2015 and 2019, when a State law created the most backward class (MBC) for them, Gujjars are demanding 5% reservation in the ongoing recruitments and inclusion of the Act in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Rejects agreement
Gujjar leader Vijay Bainsla said the dharna on railway track would not be lifted until all their demands were met. He rejected a 14-point agreement signed by a section of leaders of the Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti with the government on October 31, which included giving regular pay scale to 1,252 MBC candidates on the completion of their probation period.
The Assembly passed the Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Amendment Act, 2019, on February 13 last year. The four other nomadic communities given the quota benefit along with the Gujjars were Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Raika and Gadariya.
