Khattar accepts demands, Jats call off Delhi protests
FATEHABAD CLASH DSP hurt as protesters hurl stones at cops; torch 2 buses
NEW DELHI/FATEHABAD: The Jats have put off a protest that threatened to cripple Delhi on Monday after the Haryana government accepted most of their demands, including a quota in central government jobs.
However, violence was reported in Fatehabad where protesters clashed with police after their tractor trailers were stopped from advancing towards the national capital
“Ab Jat Dilli na aa rahe (Jats are not coming to Delhi)... “As of now, we have placed our trust in the government,” All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti chairperson Yashpal Malik said here on Sunday at a joint press conference with the Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The Jats, however, will continue sits-in in Haryana till March 26 when the AIJASS, which is spearheading the stir, would review the decision, he said. The AIJASS decision to cancel the Delhi march came after a four-hour meeting with Khattar and two Union ministers Birender Singh and PP Chaudhary.
“After discussions with the Jat leaders, we have arrived at a decision that their demands will be met in a time-bound manner,” Khattar said.
He had agreed to initiate the process of reservation for the Jats in central government jobs, reconsider cases lodged against agitators since 2010 and jobs for the next of kin of those killed and those maimed during the 2016 February agitation in Haryana.
The stir, which turned violent last year and left 30 people dead, was re-launched on January 29. The government would also give compensation to the injured and institute probe against officers accused of high-handedness during the stir.
“The Centre and state will soon begin the process of giving reservation following the high court order,” Khattar said.
Earlier, a deputy superintendent of police was among over two dozen security personnel injured when Jat protesters clashed with cops in Fatehabad district. The injured DSP, Gurdyal Singh, has been hospitalised. Police claimed the protesters pelted them with stones following which they had to use mild force to disperse the mob. Sources said the protesters set two police buses ablaze and fled from the spot.