JAIPUR: In Rajasthan, fears of another round of Gujjar agitation have started haunting people. Upset at the lack of government response on the issue of reservations for Gujjars, Colonel KS Bainsla, the leader of the Gujjars, has announced that they will hold a community Mahapanchayat on October 17 at village Ada Pilupura in Bharatpur district.
This large community Mahapanchayat could see the launch of a fresh Gujjar agitation for reservations in state and central jobs.
Inclusion of Gujjar quotas in the ninth schedule, withdrawal of all cases lodged against Gujjars in previous agitations and implementation of 5 percent MBC quota in all state jobs are their major demands.
Alarmingly, this Mahapanchayat is being held in the same area of Pilupura in the Bharatpur district where Gujjars had organised the massive agitation in 2008 that led to a police firing and left over 70 people dead in the agitation that time.
Earlier, the proposed Gujjar Mahapanchayat on October 17 was to take place at Maksudanpura Devnarayan Temple in Malarna Dungar area but now it will be held in village Ada Pilupura in Bayana. Gujjar Reservation Sangharsh Samiti has surprised the administration by changing the location of the Mahapanchayat.
Announcing the new location of the Mahapanchayat, the convener of the Sangharsh Samiti, Colonel K S Bainsla late on Wednesday evening, said, "There is a lot of anger in the Gujjar community as their demands have not been addressed for a long time. It is not necessary that we will start an agitation as that decision will be taken in the Mahapanchayat itself, after discussing all issues with the people of the society."
He said that there has been no dialogue with the government on the issue of Mahapanchayat or reservations despite their ultimatum a fortnight ago. The government did not call Gujjar leaders for talks. But he claimed that the government has been made aware of their major demands.
However, Colonel Bainsla did not clarify why the venue of the Mahapanchayat has been suddenly changed. But given the last-minute shift, the local administration and police are taking no chances and have put in place tight security in the area well before the Gujjar gathering happens on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the sudden change in the Mahapanchayat venue has upset other community leaders like Himmat Singh Gujjar who claims that Colonel Bainsla is ignoring senior Gujjar leaders to promote his own son.
"In the last 13 years of our quota agitation, it has never happened that the venue of the Mahapanchayat has been changed after it has been announced. In his bid to promote his son as a leader, Col Bainsla is now hatching conspiracies to make people forget the struggles and sacrifices that other Gujjars leaders have made in the past and this will weaken the entire agitation," Himmat Singh Gujjar added.