Gurjars will be back on tracks soon 11 Jun, 2008, 0220 hrs IST,Rituraj Tiwari,
ET Bureau
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JAIPUR: Negotiations between the
Rajasthan government and Gurjar leaders have hit a roadblock after Gurjar
Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader Kirori Singh Bainsla set new pre-conditions
for the next round of talks. Mr Bainsla wants the state government to release
arrested women activists and drop murder charges against 20 protesters before
parleys in Jaipur.
“We will only hold the talks after our women
activists, who were laying siege on the Jaipur-Delhi railway track, are released
and murder charges lifted against 20 of our community members,” Mr Bainsla
said in a letter to the state government.
The Rajasthan government,
however, has sent a fresh invitation to Mr Bainsla asking him to send a
delegation for further talks in Jaipur. “We are ready to discuss these
issues with Gurjar leaders. But the matter should be discussed over the
negotiation table. We have invited Gurjar leaders to resume talks as the
preliminary parleys held in Bayana on Monday ended on a positive note,”
said a senior official of chief minister’s office.
In a related
development, the government also added to the confusion by booking Mr Bainsla
and some other Gurjar leaders under Section 121 A (conspiring to commit offences
against the state) and Sections 147 A, 148 and 149 of IPC related to
rioting.
Meanwhile, Gurjars, adamant on their demand of ST status,
have made it clear that they would not settle for anything less than ST status,
this time. “Last year, the state government betrayed us by not keeping its
promise. We will not blink, we have paid a heavy price for nothing. We want our
demands to be met this time,” says a community leader, Ram Kishan
Gurjar.
The Gurjar agitation, apart from attracting national
attention has also offered a chance for ostracised bandits from the community to
return to society. Dacoits such as Jagan Gurjar and Ramvilas Gurjar and their
armed men, have joined the agitation to make a comeback into society. According
to sources, Jagan Gurjar is also a part of the core committee of Gurjars that
will decide the future course of action.
As the stalemate continues,
the ruling BJP must be missing the skills of former Rajasthan chief minister
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat who could have persuaded Gurjars in reaching an amicable
solution.
“The silence of Mr Shekhawat over the matter is
surprising. He has been brand ambassador of Rajasthan for over 50 years. He has
influence over the Gurjar community. Had he been roped in for initiating talks,
the situation would have been better,” said a senior BJP leader adding
that chief minister Vasundhara Raje wanted to keep the senior leaders at
bay.
The state government, on the other hand, has very little room
for appeasing the agitating Gurjars. At best, it can send a proper
recommendation to the Centre for categorising Gurjars as a denotified tribe, as
per provisions of the Constitution. After that, the President, under Article
342, through a notification, can issue details relating to a tribe or tribal
community and such tribes or tribal community will become part of the ST
schedule.
“Once the Gurjars agree to become part of the
‘denotified tribe class,’ the state government could recommend to
the President to make an addition to the denotified schedule by giving them a
share of 4-6% reservation. The Gurjars then can avail the benefits of
reservation in Central government jobs also as well as other benefits which STs
enjoy in the Central government,” said former IAS officer Sumer Chand
Bhandari adding that the state government with all its limitations is not in a
position to offer a better deal than this.
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