Jat quota stir: Gurugram remains largely unaffected on Day I
GURUGRAM: The agitation by members of the Jat community in Gurugram, seeking reservation in government jobs, passed off peacefully on Sunday.
A major reason for the subdued protests has been attributed to the call by Jat leader Yashpal Malik, who announced that Gurugram, Nuh and Panchkula will have “symbolic Jat agitation”.
On Saturday, Malik had announced that there will be symbolic protests in Gurugram, as he did not want Jats to get a bad name for hampering the state functioning of Gurugram, which contributes to the majority of Haryana’s revenue.
Furthermore, major sections of the Jat community in the city also refrained from joining the protests, after the Government negotiated with them and assured them of addressing their concerns. On Sunday, amid presence of heavy security, Jat leaders in Gurugram held a peaceful protest at the Atul Kataria Chowk.
The protests began at 10.00 am in the morning and ended at noon, after Jat leaders submitted a memorandum of their demands to the District Magistrate of Gurugram.
Besides asking for reservation under the OBC category, the Jat leaders also demanded to be provided compensation and employment opportunities to kin of those Jats who were killed in the protests held in February last year. The Jat leaders also demanded punitive action against political leaders who were trying to malign the image of the Jat community in the state. Government agencies in the city had made large-scale preparations to deal with Sunday’s agitation.
Government officials in Gurugram were in touch with the Jat leaders for over a week, negotiating the conditions for organising a peaceful protest.
“While the issue of reservation is being heard in the Court, the Government is in talks with representatives of the Jat community over fulfilling their other major concerns,” said a senior state government official.
“We were assured by representatives of the community that they will organise a peaceful protest and will put forward their demands within the ambits of law,” the official added.
The city police too had made preparations to tackle protestors in the city. Besides holding a mock drill for the Rapid Action Force, the Gurugram Police had cancelled the leave of its regular staff.
The city police had also asked its cyber cell to be extremely vigilant and ensure that no false messages should be circulated on the issue of the protests. Meanwhile, certain Jat groups have said that there would be an indefinite strike across the nineteen districts of Haryana.