Hooda to fast for peace, Shah deputes Jat leaders to pacify protesters

NEW DELHI: Arch rivals Congress and BJP showed political maturity in the backdrop of the Jat agitation, with former chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda deciding to sit on a fast at Jantar Mantar from Sunday to seek peace.

As chief minister ML Khattar assured Jats that reservation will be provided within the ambit of law, Hooda appealed for peace in the region. “My appeal is to restore peace and amity. I have also asked all our party MLAs and former MLAs to hold peace meetings in their respective constituencies,” he said. “Right now, my priority is to bring back peace and I am going on fast for this purpose,” he added.

On the other hand, BJP president Amit Shah directed senior party colleagues and Union ministers to hold parleys with the community. The BJP has deputed Jat leaders from within the party ranks — Birender Singh, Sanjeev Balyan and OP Dhankar — to douse the flames of protest.

Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, who is the Union rural development minister and belongs to Haryana, said the Centre is ready to initiate the process of giving reservation to the community in government jobs and higher education.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Jat Arkshan Sangharsh Samiti national president Yashpal Malik said the state government had earned the distrust of the Jats as a result of which the agitation had gone out of control.

“The BJP, which was never sincere in accepting our demand, dilly-dallied and when Jats began the stir, some BJP leaders vitiated the atmosphere by indulging in divisive politics. Soon, all sorts of anti-social elements also became part of it and the situation is in front of us,’’ he said.