A fresh bid to resolve the 14-day-old impasse over quota to Gujjars in Rajasthan was made on Sunday night with the state government and a delegation of the agitators resuming negotiations.
A 51-member delegation, led by Basanta Gujjar, held the third round of parleys at the state secretariat here with a committee comprising Energy Minister Jitendra Singh, home minister Shanti Dhariwal and transport minister B K Sharma.
The resumption of talks between the agitators demanding 5% reservation in government jobs for Gujjars and the state authorities follows an appeal to them by union minister Sachin Pilot, who belongs to the community, to seek a solution through dialogue.
Gujjars were refusing to hold another round of talks with the government insisting on intervention of Congress leaders from the community who, including Pilot, held discussions with state ministers on Saturday in a bid to pave the way for another round of parleys.
The second round of talks was held on Thursday last between an 11-member delegation and government officials at Bayana, while the first round was held on Sunday at Pilukapura, the epicentre of the agitation, but no headway was made.
The High Court on December 22 had stayed the operation of an Act granting 5% reservation to Gujjars and directed the state government to undertake a data collection exercise within one year to justify the quota for members of the community.
{{/usCountry}}The High Court on December 22 had stayed the operation of an Act granting 5% reservation to Gujjars and directed the state government to undertake a data collection exercise within one year to justify the quota for members of the community.
{{/usCountry}}The agitators have been blocking Mumbai-Delhi rail tracks and Jaipur-Agra National Highway and several other roads in support of their demand for the last 14 days.