JAIPUR: Gujjars will begin a ‘Rajasthan Jam’ agitation from November 1 if their quota demands are not met by then. This decision was taken on Saturday after a ‘Mahapanchayat’ in which thousands of Gujjars gathered at Peelu Ka Pura village in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district.
While reasserting their demands, the Mahapanchayat issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Gehlot government to fulfill their demands.
The Mahapanchayat demanded the inclusion of Gujjar quotas in the ninth schedule, withdrawal of all cases lodged against Gujjars, martyr status to the families who died during police firing during earlier agitation, and implementation of 5 percent MBC quota in all state jobs are their major demands.
At the Mahapanchayat, Col. KS Bainsla, the leader of the Gujjars, said that their community is deeply upset at the lack of government response on the issue of reservations for Gujjars. He remarked, "It's very easy for us to hold a massive agitation as can be seen from the large turnout at this Mahapanchayat.
Through this show of strength, we want the government to realise how serious we are about our demands. I hope, they will try and fulfill our demands. But if they don’t do it, then we will begin the agitation at Peelu Ka Pura." The Mahapanchayat also expressed disappointment with Gujjar MLAs and MPs of Rajasthan.
In February 2019, the Rajasthan assembly had passed a Bill giving a five per cent quota under MBC in government jobs and educational institutes to the Gujjars and four other communities. The assembly had also passed an administrative resolution to request the Centre to include the Gujjar quota law in the ninth schedule of the Constitution that provides a protective umbrella to laws placed in it.
Col Bainsla said that though the Gujjar community has, on several occasions, raised the matter of putting the reservation law in the 9th schedule in order to fill the backlog of recruitments and provide 5 per cent reservation benefits to people from the most backward classes (MBC) during recruitment processes, the state has shown laxity in its decisions.
"Several meetings have been held in the past requesting the government to give compensation and jobs to the families of the people killed during the movement and to withdraw lawsuits etc. But the government has not fulfilled any demands. Hence, there is a huge rage among the Gujjar community," Col Bainsla has asserted to the media.
Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has accused the Congress of complicating the issue and betraying the Gujjars. BJP state president Satish Poonia said, "The Congress has given false promises to the Gujjars and the result is that the community has now decided to hit the roads. The government is shying away from its responsibility and we hope they will find some solution."
The Congress, in turn, blamed the BJP governments in the past saying that the party misled the Gujjars and inflamed the community. The Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra said, "The BJP earlier had its government both in the state and at the Centre but they did nothing for the Gujjars. Our government is sincere and fulfilled its commitment soon after its formation. Currently, all 25 Lok Sabha MPs in Rajasthan are from BJP but till today none of them has even once raised the issue."
While the parties bicker, with the Gujjar Mahapanchayat issuing an ultimatum, fear of the community going on the warpath is now haunting people across the state.