Jat leader’s new diktat: Boycott shops which do not support quota stir
ROHTAK:In yet another resolution passed to press for their demands, Jat leader Yashpal Malik on Sunday asked the community to stop purchasing goods from shops that don’t support their agitation in written.
He said this while addressing thousands of Jat protesters gathered here in Jassia village to observe the ‘Black Day’ called to protest what the Jats call the “bias of the government against the Jat community”.
Malik said, “From March 1, purchase only those goods from the market that are extremely important and only from those shops or traders who have mentioned that they support Jat agitation and the demands raised by the community, in writing outside their shops.”
“Try to buy as little as possible to crumble the markets in Haryana,” the AIJASS president further said.
The Jat leader had earlier asked the community to stop paying electricity and water bills and repayment of loans to government agencies from March.
Earlier in the day, as a mark of protest, Jats painted Jassia village in black by adorning only black clothes.
The leaders once again alleged that Jat victims of last year’s quota stir were ‘not given justice’. This comes despite the state police having countered this claim on Saturday.
It is learnt that the principle organising committee of the quota stir, the All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, reportedly distributed black scarves to women and black turbans to men in a door-to-door campaign in several villages that are actively participating in the dharnas.
National highway-71 A that passes through Jassia was clogged with a large number of vehicles belonging to the protesters.
The police had shut the highway from Rohtak to Jassia and had diverted routes for commuters.
However, what can perhaps be seen as a security lapse on part of the administration, police and paramilitary forces were not deployed anywhere near the dharan spots, even to control traffic as vehicles of the protesters clogged the highway for several hours. This is despite the fact that Rohtak city has adequate deployment of police and paramilitary force.
AFTER ‘BLACK DAY’ COMES ‘BLACK HOLI’
The Jat leaders on Sunday also asked the community to boycott the upcoming festival of Holi in March. “So many of our community members have died in the last one year, while many are in jail. There has been immense injustice. We will observe Black Holi by not celebrating it,” Jat leader Ashok Balhara said.
Last year, too, Rohtak, which used to witness the festival of colours with much fervour and fanfare saw a subdued Holi, after the city was rocked by unprecedented violence in February during the Jat quota stir.
SURGE IN ATTENDANCE IN KAITHAL, KURUKSHETRA
Dharnas in Deoban of Kaithal, Jainpur Jattan of Kurukshetra, Ballah of Karnal and Ugrakheri village of Panipat district saw an increase in the number of supporters on Sunday. Protesters, including women and children, reached the dharnas wearing black strips.
As per sources, AIJASS members will start non-cooperation from March 1. They said the agitation will continue till their demands are accepted. On March 2, people from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will reach Delhi for a protest and will submit a memorandum to the President. Their next step will be to gherao the Parliament in Delhi.
Sources said Jat leaders will also appeal to Capt Abhimanyu in a bid to persuade him to withdraw the cases filed against Jat youths. “If he does not accept our demands, Jats will boycott him,” sources said.
“The government says it cannot withdraw cases against the Jats. How did it withdraw 1,394 cases registered against members of the OBC brigade, who were allegedly booked for violence last year? Many cases were not even registered,” AIJASS Kurukshetra district convener Baldev Rathee told Hindustan Times.
“We are demanding that the government give a sarvjanik maafi to end the impasse,” he said, adding that the government wants to divide Jats and nonJats.
In Kaithal, the district administration appointed 30 duty magistrates and also stopped internet services for a few hours, which were restored later. Steps were also taken to ensure smooth passage of traffic on national and state highways.