Gurjar organisation in Rajasthan to begin agitation seeking quotas today; police on alert

Jaipur: A major Gurjar organisation on Friday said it will begin an agitation over reservation for the community from 1 November. Ahead of the agitation, mobile internet services were suspended in Karauli, Bharatpur, Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur. Additional police forces have been put on alert to deal with any law and order situation, a senior police official said. Talking to reporters in Hinduan, Gurjar leader Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla urged members of the community to reach Pilupura (Bayana) for the agitation on Sunday. Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader Vijay Bainsla said, “From 1 November, the movement will start in Pilupura because the government is not accepting our demands for the past two years.” He said the community was left with no option as the state government ignored their demands. He said the Rajasthan government should get the Gurjar reservation included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, fill the backlog of vacancies and give the benefit of five per cent reservation to the Most Backward Classes (MBC) in the pending recruitment process. Meanwhile, police and the administration stepped up vigil in Karauli, Alwar, Dausa, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur and Bharatpur districts ahead of the agitation. “Mobile internet services have been suspended in Karauli, Bharatpur, Jaipur and Sawai Madhopur. Additional police force, including Rapid Action Force and Armed Border Home Guards, have been alerted to deal with any situation,” Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Saurabh Srivastav said. A high-level meeting of police was also held in Jaipur. Additional force is being sent along with higher officials in the districts. The Gurjar panel had held a mahapanchayat in Bayana on 17 October, giving the state government an ultimatum to fulfil their demands till 1 November. On Thursday, Rajasthan Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Ashok Chandna had said a cabinet committee had taken a decision on their three key demands. Chandna said all 1,252 candidates belonging to the Most Backward Classes (MBCs), who have completed their probation period, will be given regular pay scale by the state government. The state government will once again write to the Centre to include the provision related to reservation for the MBCs in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, he said. Chandna said families of the three people who died due to injuries received during the Gurjar agitation in the past will be given an assistance of Rs 5 lakh each.