Rajasthan ministers to hold meeting with Gujjar leaders on 18 June to discuss community's quota demand

Jaipur: A meeting will be held between ministers of the Rajasthan government and members of the Gujjar Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti on 18 June to discuss the community’s demand of five percent quota in jobs and educational institutes, an official said Tuesday. In the meeting, Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh, Health Minister Raghu Sharma, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Bhanwar Lal Meghwal and Chief Secretary DB Gupta will be present besides other officials of the department concerned, Principal Secretary of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department Akhil Arora said. Gujjar community members had blocked railways tracks and highways in the state in February and the agitation continued for eight days. They called off their protest on 16 February, after getting a written assurance from the state government that it will stand by the community if the Bill provisioning 5 percent reservation to them faces legal hurdles. On 13 February, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a bill giving five percent quota in government jobs and educational institutes to the Gujjars and four other communities agitating for it.