Dhankar holds meet with other Jat leaders, AIJASS boycotts

PANIPAT: A day after their meeting with chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Jat leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday reached out to various Jat groups and khap leaders to negotiate and end the three-week-long agitation.

Senior Jat leader and agriculture minister OP Dhankar held a closed door meeting with about 200 Jat leaders at Panipat. He appealed them to reach out the protesters and persuaded them to end their agitation, assuring that the government is taking steps to accept their demands.

Accompanied by local MLA Mahipal Dhanda, Dhankar met senior Jat leaders, among others, Sube Singh Samain and OP Mann, and sought their support to end the impasse.

“They raised their demands in the meeting. Prominent among them was the demand to withdraw pending cases, release those arrested during last year’s violence and regular government jobs to the family members of those killed in last year’s violence,” Dhankar told mediapersons after the meeting. “I will take up these demands with the CM. The government is making all efforts to end the protest and is seeking legal opinion,” he said .

Sube Singh Samain, spokesperson of Sarv Khap Panchayat, who was also present in the meeting told HT: “The minister has told us that the government is taking legal opinion to accept demands of the protesting Jats. However, the problem is how can the government withdraw complaints filed by individuals?”

He also accused All India Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) president Yashpal Malik and leaders from the opposition parties of “misleading” people.

Malik said, “The government is showing positive response. They should also come forward to end the protest as the issue of reservation is pending in the court.”

BJP ‘BETRAYING’ JAT COMMUNITY: MALIK

CHANDIGARH: All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) chief Yashpal Malik on Friday hit out at the BJP state leaders, including ministers, for “betraying” the Jat community.

Malik said the BJP leaders, including state unit chief Subhash Barala and agriculture minister Om Prakash Dhankar, were trying the ‘divide and rule’ strategy.

“They are playing a double game by not holding talks with the organisation, but visiting dharnas or meeting some groups to try and break the agitation,” he alleged after some BJP leaders met the protesters at various protest sites.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had met his party leaders from the stir-affected districts in Gurgaon on Thursday for feedback and to devise the government’s strategy.