Four months after their violent agitation for quota, Rajasthan's Gujjar leaders appear to be cosying up to the state's BJP government led by Vasundhara Raje.
NEW DELHI: Four months after their violent agitation for quota, Rajasthan's Gujjar leaders appear to be cosying up to the state's BJP government led by Vasundhara Raje ahead of the Assembly elections and are turning their ire on the Congress.
Gujjar leader K S Bainsla, who led the over one month long agitation which claimed 70 lives and disrupted rail and road services till it was called off on June 18, said his community was "contended" with the performance of Chief Minister Raje.
"She has done what she promised. All my men who had been arrested during the protests have been released and we feel contended," Bainsla, who became the face of the stir demanding ST status for the community in Rajasthan, said.
Bainsla said a decision to support a particular political party in the coming assembly polls would be taken very soon.
Bainsla's deputy and vice-president of Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, Harprasad Tanwar Tighariya, however, accused the Congress party of trying to sabotage the move to grant five per cent quota to Gujjars in Rajasthan.
"The Congress-led government at the Centre and the Congress-appointed Governor in Jaipur Raj Bhavan are not taking care of the Gujjars. Forget about our solitary demand for the ST status, they have not even cleared the five per cent quota passed by the Rajasthan Assembly," Tighariya said.
Asked about his joining the electoral bandwagon, Bainsla said "it all depends on my community's wishes. If they want me to take a political role, we would give it a thought".
Bainsla said that the five per cent reservation offered to his community by the Rajasthan Assembly is just an "ad hoc" arrangement by the state government for their larger demand of an ST status.
"We are hence requesting the President and the Prime Minister to take up our cause and do justice. The Bill has not been cleared because of political reasons. We will wait for 15 days before taking a decision on our next move," he said.
Bainsla along with other Gujjar leaders met the Rajasthan Governor in Jaipur on October two to request his assent on the five per cent quota Bill named Rajasthan SC/ST/OBC/Special Backward Category and EBC Bill, 2008.
"I do not know why the governor is not siging his assent?," he said.
The proposed Act will provide five per cent reservation to Gujjars in educational institutions and government services in Rajasthan.
The Rajasthan Assembly on July 16 had passed the Bill providing five per cent quota to Gujjars under the "special backward class" and 14 per cent to poor among the "economically backwards" (EBC).
The Gujjar agitation was called off after an agreement was reached between the community and Rajasthan government.
Showering praises on Raje, Bainsla said the BJP government has offered employment to one family member of each of the Gujjar who died during the agitation.
The compensation has also been offered to those who were injured during the agitation, he said.
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