Gujjar agitation spills over to NCR

GURGOAN: The Gujjar agitation for ST status on Wednesday spread to the national capital region (NCR) with protesters blocking traffic on certain key stretches as agitators forced shutdowns in several areas in Rajasthan.

A group of protesters set tyres afire in Gurgaon's M G Road area, where major malls are located, causing a major traffic jam, police said. They dispersed after police intervened.

Vehicular movement was affected in sections of Mehrauli-Gurgaon and GT-Karnal roads by protesters who put up blockades.

With the Gujjars threatening to bring the NCR to a halt on Thursday, large contingents of police are keeping a close watch across the capital, especially in Gujjar-strongholds of Mehrauli, Ghazipur, Patparganj, Badarpur, Khanpur, Ayanagar, Chilia village and Rampur.

In Rajasthan, the agitators forced shutdowns in Tonk, Sawaimadhopur, Rajsamand, Rawatbhata, Pali and Deoli areas.

Traffic was also affected on the Jaipur-Agra, Jaipur- Kota and Udaipur-Ahmedabad national highways, police sources in Jaipur said.

Rajasthan Government has clamped in 15 districts the stringent National Security Act, under which a person can be arrested without a warrant.

Meanwhile, the Rajasthan government on Wednesday said the reservation should be done at the Central level and asked the community members to "use their wisdom".

"Now the entire proceedings of reservation should be done at the Centre level. The Gujjar community should take their initiatives to the Centre and use their wisdom," Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said in a full-page advertisement carried by leading newspapers.

She also appealed to the Gujjars to stop violence, understand the reservation procedure and come forward to settle the issue through dialogue.

While the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has referred the issue of reservation sought for Gujjars by Raje to the Law Ministry, the Congress dismissed her recommendation saying it was "immature" and legally untenable.

Meanwhile, Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, who is camping in Karwadi village in Bharatpur district, accused the Centre and Rajasthan Government of adopting "time buying tactics" on the community's demand for ST status.

"The Prime Minister's Office by referring the issue to the Law Ministry is part of the time-buying tactics adopted by the Central and Rajasthan governments," Bainsla said.

He was responding to questions on the PMO's decision to refer to the Law Ministry the letter of Raje seeking a separate quota for Gujjars.

"Only granting ST status for Gujjars will end the agitation," he said.

Bainsla asked the Rajasthan Government to send a "clear and factual" report to the Centre on the community's demand.

Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil chaired a meeting with Special Secretary (Internal Security) M L Kumawat and Delhi Police chief Y S Dadwal on Tuesday and is understood to have later briefed the Prime Minister on the situation.

Taliban agrees to let girls attend school
ISLAMABAD: The Taliban in Pakistan's northwestern Mohmand tribal region have agreed to let girls attend school if their teachers wear veils.

The leader of a jirga of tribal elders, Abdul Manan Kodakhel, said the Taliban had agreed to allow girls to enroll in schools if the condition is met.

Former parliamentarian Maulana Abdul Malik, who negotiated with the government on behalf of the Taliban, too agreed to provide protection to government employees in the area and said they could do their jobs without any fear.

The Taliban, however, announced that non-governmental organisations would not be allowed to resume work in the area. They accused the NGOs of "spreading obscenity" which could not be tolerated, the Dawn newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Taliban also said that roads in Mohmand Agency could be used by Pakistani security forces but attacks by foreign forces must be stopped immediately.

A group of tribal elders also met Amjad Ali Khan, the political agent of Mohmand Agency, and apprised him of the outcome of talks held with the Taliban. The political authorities released seven men of the Qandahari tribe and asked the jirga to continue its work for peace in the area.