Haryana’s looming Jat quota agitation has been put off by community leaders till April 3 after hectic parleys between state government officials and the Jat Araksahan Sangarsh Samiti, which had given
Haryana’s looming Jat quota agitation has been put off by community leaders till April 3 after hectic parleys between state government officials and the Jat Araksahan Sangarsh Samiti, which had given time to the state government to pass the reservation bill by March 31, failing which they will resume the agitation. The Centre adopted a proactive approach this time, with home minister Rajnath Singh in direct touch with Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar to take stock of the situation before it could spiral out of control.
Hours before the agitation was put off, Mr Singh told reporters in New Delhi that “there is no need to worry and a solution will be found soon’”. He added: “I have spoken to the Haryana chief minister. There is no need to worry about anything. I am sure a solution will be found soon.”
Hours later, the Jat Araksahan Sangarsh Samiti gave time to the state government to pass the reservation bill by March 31, failing which they would resume the agitation.
Giving details of his meeting with the Jat delegation on Friday, Haryana chief secretary D.S. Dhesi said the Jat leaders had assured the state government that while the Assembly was in session, they would not resort to any type of agitation or protest. “The matter is under the consideration of the state government, after which the council of ministers will decide on the format of the Jat reservation bill,” he said.
“We assured theirs will be considered and the final decision (on the Jat reservation issue) lies with the council of ministers and the state Assembly,” the chief secretary said.
All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chief Yashpal Malik said: “We have given time to the Haryana government to bring and pass the Jat Reservation Bill by March 31 (when the ongoing Budget session ends). If the government does not pass the reservation bill by March 31, then we shall chalk out our next course of action in our meeting on April 3 to be held in Delhi,” he said.
Replying to questions, he said: “There will be no agitation till April 3.”
He appealed to other Jat community leaders not to hold any agitation/protest in the state till April 3. The Haryana government had already assured Jat leaders that it would bring the bill to provide for reservations to Jats and four other communities in the state during the current session of the Assembly.
Mr Malik expressed satisfaction over the discussions held with officials of the Haryana government to chalk out a “workable solution”. He said: “We are fully satisfied with the talks at today’s meeting and would appeal to people not to resort to any protest.”
“During the meeting, we were assured on behalf of the Haryana chief minister that the bill will be passed in the ongoing Budget Session in the state,” the Jat leader said.
However, he said the Jat leaders were not shown any draft of the bill which they wanted to check. He said Jats want reservations in BC (Backward Class) category and that the community is getting ready for an agitation for quotas in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.
On the issue of withdrawal of cases, Mr Malik said they were assured that if any false cases were filed against Jats, these would be withdrawn. “We were also assured that we can file complaint against any officer for his role in the Jat agitation to the SSP or deputy commissioner,” he said.
Earlier, the Jats had issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the state government to address their demands by Thursday, adding they would take a decision on their future course of action after meeting the Haryana chief secretary and DGP on Friday. Bracing for an agitation, the state government had called in 8,000 Central paramilitary force personnel and deployed the local police in sensitive areas where they carried out flag marches to instil confidence among the people. Around 300 paramilitary personnel had also been deployed at the Munak Canal, which supplies water to Delhi. It was badly damaged during last month’s Jat agitation . Prohibitory orders were clamped and mobile Internet services suspended at many places in Haryana on Friday as a precautionary measure.
