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Tired of the ongoing fortnight-long Gujjar agitation over its demand to grant Scheduled Tribe status to Gujjars, the Centre has asked the Rajasthan government to solve the issue on its own.

The peace talk was dashed on Saturday when the two sides deadlocked over the choice of venue for crucial talks.

Vasundhra Raje government rejected the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti`s proposal of Bayana as the venue for the meeting. But, the Samiti insisted that Bayana be the venue for the talks.

The government conveyed its decision that talks will be held only in Jaipur in a letter to Samiti patron Kirori Singh at Piloopura village in Bharatpur district through the government’s chief negotiator S N Thanvi.

Centre said the state government to take its own initiative for granting the community de-notified or nomadic tribe status as Constitution enables the states to make such a provision.

The Centre also gave the example of Maharashtra government, which has implemented four per cent quota for de-notified or nomadic tribe long ago.

Tribal Affairs Minister P R Kyndiah send a letter to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje saying that as per the legal advice available with the government, the Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, enables the states to make provisions for reservations to nomadic and de-notified tribes other than the SC, ST and OBCs, if the situation demands.

“Since Constitutional provision already exist which empower the states to make special provisions for categories other than SCs, STs and OBCs, no amendment to the Constitution for this purpose is necessary or feasible, as any such move will be settled by a catena of Supreme Court decision on the subject of reservation,” the letter said.

Earlier Rajasthan Chief Minister Raje has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recommending four to six per cent reservation for Gujjars in the category of de-notified or nomadic tribe.

Tags: Agitation, Centre, Gujjar, Gujjar Agitation, Rajasthan, Vasundhara Raje

The Gujjar’s agitation demanding the status of scheduled tribe (ST) creating unrest in Rajasthan seems to continue as the Gujjar leader, Kirori Singh Bainsla refused the talks offered by the CM. He said that the talks will happen if the state government sends a representative to Bharatpur. On the other hand Vasundhara Raje takes the matter strictly and threatened the protesters to stop the violence saying the government won’t spare them.

On Saturday (May 24), the Rajasthan chief minister, Vasundhara Raje offered an invitation to Bainsla for parleys in Jaipur but the leader of the Gurjar Arakshan Sanyukt Sangarsh Samiti, Bainsla, initially refused to see her after the death of four people, who were injured in police firing.

Bainsla said, “He would not leave his supporters and go to Jaipur to hold talks with Raje.”

The Gujjars have been sitting along the tracks for the past three days, with 12 bodies of those who died in police firing.

In response to the continued stir by Gujjars, the army conducted flag marches and maintained a strict vigil in the four affected districts of Bharatpur, Dausa, Karauli and Sawai Madhopur.

Bainsla who has been camping in Kherwadi area in the Bayana block, in Karwadi demanded that parleys be held in Karwadi.

He said, “Who would be responsible if something happens to them (supporters) while I am gone? The talks, whatsoever, should happen here.”

The violence has left altogether 35 people dead till now. The death toll in the Dausa firing has now reached 19 while 16 people died in police firing in district of Bharatpur.

There are reports that parts of the track have been damaged. Bayana, where over 15 people died in police firing on Saturday, is under heavy security with 4000 security personnel stationed. The violence affected the university exams going in the state as all the exams are postponed till May28.

Tags: Bharatpur, Gujjar, Rajasthan, Reservation, Vasundhara Raje