Gujjars call off stir as Rajasthan agrees to quota

Jaipur: The Gujjar community on Thursday called off its agitation after the Rajasthan government agreed to provide it 5 percent reservation in education and government jobs, a Minister said.

"The Rajasthan government will bring a new reservation Bill in the next session of the Assembly to be held soon. We will see that this time it does fall under any legal hurdle," said Medical and Health Minister Rajendra Rathore.

"We will try to have this five percent reservation listed under the ninth schedule of the constitution," he said.

The agreement was reached after a four-hour-long meeting between the three-member ministerial team and Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti leader Col. (retd) Kirori Singh Bainsla.

After the meeting, Bainsla said: "We have decided to call off our agitation. I am now going to Pilu Ka Pura, and will make a formal announcement there."

"I hope the government adheres to the agreement," he said.

Earlier in the day, about 4,500 paramilitary personnel were been sent to Rajasthan to help the state government in handling the Gujjar protest.

On Thursday, the Rajasthan High Court slammed the chief secretary and the DGP for not arresting even a single Gujjar agitator and letting people to suffer due to the "undemocratic" protest which has crippled road and rail services in the state.

Directing the officials to act as soon as possible to remove all road and rail blockades, the court asked the chief secretary and DGP to file an affidavit by Friday explaining why action was not taken under the FIR registered against protestors.

The court also told them to give details of the losses incurred to private and public properties due to the Gujjars' stir over their demand for 5 percent reservation in government jobs.