Jat quota: Govt gets respite till April 3

The quota agitation by Jats in Haryana was on Friday put off till April 3 as the community leaders agreed to give the state government time to get a reservation Bill passed during the ongoing Assembly session that ends on March 31.

All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti president Yashpal Malik announced this after Jat leaders held talks with Haryana Chief Secretary and DGP in Chandigarh. “We have given time to the Haryana government to bring and pass the Jat Reservation Bill by March 31 (when the ongoing Budget session ends),” Malik said.

“If the government does not pass the reservation Bill by March 31, then we shall chalk out our next course of action in our meeting on April 3 to be held in Delhi,” he said.

He added: “There will be no agitation till April 3.” Malik has also appealed to other leaders of the Jat community not to hold any agitation or protest in the state till April 3.

The Haryana government had already assured the Jat leaders that it will bring the Bill to provide reservation to Jats and four other communities in the state during the current session of the Assembly.

Malik expressed satisfaction over the discussion held with the officials of Haryana government to chalk out a “workable solution”. “We are fully satisfied with the talks at today’s meeting and would appeal to the people not to resort to protest,” Malik said.

“During the meeting, we were assured on behalf of Haryana Chief Minister that the Bill will be passed in the ongoing Budget Session in the state,” the Jat leader said.

However, he added the Jat leaders were not shown any draft of the Bill, which they want to check.

Malik said Jats want reservation in BC (Backward Class) category and that the community is getting ready for agitation for quota in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Jammu & Kashmir.

On the issue of withdrawal of cases, Malik said they were assured that if any false cases was registered against Jats, they would be withdrawn. “We were also assured that we can file complaint against any officer for his role duirng Jat agitation to SSP or DC,” he said.

“The main talking point in this meeting was reservation and under which category we want it...Other than this, we had 4 to 5 very important demands like arrests taking place in Jhajjar, Sonipat and whole of Haryana should be stopped, proper investigation should be conducted and local people should be a part of it,” he said.

When the last agitation got over, the government had promised to pay Rs 10 lakh for family and kin of the dead. “We asked the government to do what they promised. We want unity and brotherhood among the youth of the state, khaps and all 36 castes and groups and want to maintain peace in the state,” Malik said. 

Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, while giving details of the meeting, said Jat leaders have assured the government that till the Assembly is in session they would not resort to protest.

He said the Committee headed by him to review Jat reservation has already submitted its report to the state government. “The matter is under the consideration of the state government, after which the Council of Ministers will decide on the format of the Jat Reservation Bill,” he said.

“We assured them that every suggestion of theirs will be considered and the final decision (on the Jat Reservation Bill) lies on the Council of Ministers and the state assembly,” the Chief Secretary said.

He said they sought the views of the Jat delegation, which will be considered while finalising the Bill. If need be, another round of discussions can be held with the Jat leaders before the finalisation of the Bill, he said.

Dhesi said the delegation was told that their suggestion for inclusion of Jat reservation in Schedule 9 if the total reservation exceeds the 50 per cent limit would also be considered.

With Jats putting off their agitation, mobile Internet servives were restored on Friday night in Haryana, hours after these were suspended in parts of the state in view of the threat of the stir. “Mobile Internet services have been restored in Rohtak and Sonepat,” an official of the Haryana Home department said. The decision in this regard was taken after reviewing the  situation, he said. The government had suspended the mobile Internet services in the wake of threat  call given by Jat leaders for resuming agitation to stop spreading rumours on social media.