Gujjars step up stir in Rajasthan after High Court denies them reservation

The move to provide reservation by government could not,therefore,be acted upon,the judges said.

The court also directed the state government to carry out an exercise within a year to establish the ‘backwardness’ of Gujjars,Raikas,Raibari and Gadiya Lohar communities in the fields of education and government employment.

Gujjars have been agitating for the last two days in support of their demands,including quota in jobs. The Ashok Gehlot government has said it was ready for talks to end the impasse.

The High Court had earlier stayed the quota as it was exceeding the 50 per cent limit.

After giving orders to step up the agitation,Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla said: “We are not ready to give up till our demands are met.”

Rail and road traffic were disrupted in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district due to the stir. Traffic on National Highway 12 and the Kota-Jalawar Highway was severely affected.

Reacting to the High Court’s order,Bainsla asked community members across Rajasthan to intensify their agitation in support of their demand.

“The government has cheated us by not presenting our side very effectively in the High Court. It is injustice with us and now I have asked all my people not only in Rajasthan but outside the state to launch the agitation,” Bainsla told PTI from the sit-in site.

“All rail tracks and highways will be blocked all over the state soon and we are also asking Gujjars in Delhi to stop the milk supply in support of our demands,” he said.

“Why only Gujjars,stay quota of ST/SC and OBC if the biased government does not want to give reservation. Though we respect the High Court,we will not suffer anymore,” he said.

A close aide of Bainsla,Dr Roop Singh said,”The strategy to intensify agitation will be announced two hours later after discussing the matter with the community people.”

Meanwhile,another Gujjar leader Ramvir Singh Bidhudi demanded that the Rajasthan government should make a sub-category within the OBC quota and give four per cent reservation to Gujjars.

“The government has an option to give four per cent reservation to Gujjars by making a sub-category within the OBC quota,” he told reporters here.

He also threatened to launch a nationwide agitation under the leadership of Bainsla on the reservation issue.

“We will approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the issue,” he said.

Meanwhile,rail and road traffic remained affected as the agitators continued to squat on rail tracks near Pilukapur in Bharatpur district where security forces had been deployed in strength.

Gujjars have been agitating for the last two days in support of their demands,including quota in jobs. The Ashok Gehlot government has said it was ready for talks to end the impasse.

Meanwhile,security has been tightened at a key rail bridge in Dholpur district from where around two dozen diverted trains from Mathura will pass,authorities said.

“Security of the Chambal rail bridge has been tightened in the wake of the ongoing Gujjar agitation. Armed policemen are protecting the bridge,while regular patrolling is being conducted in the area to keep the tracks safe,” RPF Dholpur in-charge Jogendra Singh said.