The two sides held two rounds of talks since Tuesday night and agreed to meet again. "The government has assured us that it will give a written proposal. So we will meet again...," said Himmat Singh, spokesperson of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti.
He said the draft and the outcome of the meeting will be discussed with the agitation leader Kirori Singh Bainsla and any decision about the agitation will be taken thereafter. Gujjars have been blocking rail tracks and roads in three districts for a week now to press for five per cent quota in government jobs.
Both sides had detailed discussions last night over the issue though there was no conclusive result and the Gujjar delegation and a three-minister panel met again on Wednesday at the secretariat. "We did not reach any conclusion last night so we held another round of talks in the morning and after assurance of a draft, another meeting will take place in the evening," Singh said. On behalf of the government, a committee comprising Health minister Rajendra Rathore, Social Justice minister Arun Chaturvedi and Food minister Hem Singh Bhadana is having dialogues with Gujjars.
Meanwhile, the Delhi-Mumbai rail track in Bharatpur, Agra-Jaipur national highway in Dausa and a state highway in Sawaimadhopur remained blocked on the seventh consecutive day of the agitation on Wednesday. The Rajasthan government has directed the district administration and police officers in four districts to evacuate Gujjar agitators from railway tracks and highways in compliance of a High Court order. "The directions were given to Jaipur and Bharatpur range IGs and collectors of Bharatpur, Dausa, Karauli and <g data-gr-id="33">Sawaimadhopur</g> to clear the blockade and restore highways and rail tracks," state Home Minister <g data-gr-id="34">Gulabchand</g> Kataria said.
HC asks why agitators given free hand
Pulling up the state government for giving a "free-hand" to Gujjar agitators, the Rajasthan HC on Wednesday directed the Chief Secretary and the police chief to appear before it on Thursday and immediately restore traffic on the Jaipur-Agra national highway. "We would like to hear from the state Chief Secretary and DGP what the administration did in the last few days to remove the rail and road blockade and why were the agitators given a free hand to take law into their own hands," a single judge Bench said on Wednesday.