Rajasthan: Gurjar stir over reservation called off

A major Gurjar organisation on Thursday called off its 11-day agitation over reservation in jobs and education after reaching a consensus with the Rajasthan government, a community leader said.

The protesters had been squatting on a rail track in Bharatpur’s Bayana affecting traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai rail route.They had also blocked the Hindaun-Bayana road.The Gurjars vacated the railway track early Thursday morning after the agreement with the state government was read out to them by their leaders, police said.

Gurjar leader Vijay Bainsla said the fish plates uprooted by the protesters had been put back in place. A fish plate is a metal bar bolted to the ends of two rails to join them together in a track. “We came to an agreement with the state government... Community has agreed to the settlement. We are vacating the track. Trains will resume soon,”.

The Gurjar Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti has agreed to the government’s proposal of giving Rs. 5 lakh compensation and a government job to a family member of those who died in police action in the different agitations over the years, granting regular pay scale to 1,252 candidates who have completed a two-year probation in government jobs, and withdrawal of police cases against protesters. 

The government has also agreed to implement the agreement reached between the two sides in February 2020 apart from constituting a committee for pending recruitment, and approving more beds in girls hostel in Jaipur.

Meanwhile, mobile internet services, which were suspended in parts of the state due to the agitation, were restored following the announcement to call off the stir.

After a marathon meeting with a ministerial group on Wednesday, the Gurjar delegation, including Col Kirori Singh Bainsla, met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

However, the delegation had said on Wednesday night that they would take a decision on calling off the agitation at the protest site in Bayana.

“A consensus has been reached over the demands with the state government. We have trust that the government will work on the agreement. However, we will take a decision on the calling off of the agitation at the protest site,” Vijay Bainsla had said after the meeting.

On October 31, a delegation of the Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti held discussions with a Cabinet sub-committee in Jaipur, in which a consensus had emerged on 14 points but it was not accepted by Kirori Singh Bainsla and his supporters.