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.
Even as Jats have called off their quota-related protest in Delhi scheduled for Monday, their dharnas in different parts of Haryana will continue for now.
All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) chief Yashpal Malik said the ‘Delhi Kooch’ protest to choke the national capital has been called off, trusting the assurances given by two Union ministers, Birender Singh and PP Chaudhary, and chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on their demands.
“They have agreed to fulfil six of our demands. We have left the decision on action against Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini for his provocative statements against the Jat community to the BJP,” he told Hindustan Times over phone.
The Jats decided to call off their Delhi protest after their talks with the two Union ministers and Khattar in the national capital. They have been demanding reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, withdrawal of cases registered during last year’s stir, release of youths arrested in such cases, government jobs for kin of those killed, adequate compensation to those injured and action against Saini.
Malik, who is spearheading the Jat quota stir, said the state government has agreed to review all the cases registered during the stir in 2016.
“We have got assurance on quota in central government jobs. The central government will appoint chairman and members of the backward classes commission very soon to take the matter forward. Also, permanent jobs will be given to kin of those killed during last year’s stir,” he said.
On the ongoing protest dharnas (sit-ins) at 29 places across the state, the AIJASS chief said the protests will continue at 20 places till March 26.
“I will travel to each one of these till March 25. A meeting will be held on March 26 to decide whether or not to continue our protests thereafter,” he said.
The Jats had resumed their quota stir with dharnas at 19 places on January 29 and have continued their protest eversince, increasing the number of protest sites last month.
The agitation, which saw unprecedented violence in half a dozen districts of the state in February 2016, has been largely peaceful this time.