The Hindu : Front Page : Rail, road blockades end in Rajasthan

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Friday, Jun 20, 2008
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Rail, road blockades end in Rajasthan

Sunny Sebastian

JAIPUR: A day after the accord between the agitating Gujjars and the Rajasthan government, peace reigned in the State on Thursday.

The squatters, who had made the Delhi-Mumbai rail line at Pilupura in Bharatpur district their home for the past 28 days, left for their villages to renew farming, thanks to abundant early monsoon showers in the region.he Gujjar leader and convener of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti (agitation action committee), Kirori Singh Bainsla, who revisited the rail track at Pilupura/Karwadi on Thursday after the announcement of the truce, thanked his followers for their perseverance and grit. After signing the agreement with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje here on Wednesday, Col. Bainsla took a flight to Agra and reached Pilurpua by road.

The celebrations remained subdued in the morning at ground zero as the community, which fought for Scheduled Tribe status, had to settle for 5 per cent reservation under a special category along with Banjaras, Gadia Luhars and Raikas. “Mere kehne sei vote dena” (cast your vote on the basis of what I tell you), Col. Bainsla told the gathering, a much smaller crowd this time.

“We are happy about peace returning to the area. The 5 per cent offer does not mean much. It does not even appear a sincere effort on the part of the government coming as it does along with another 14 per cent for the economically backward classes,” Roop Singh, a close associate of the retired Colonel, told The Hindu. “What is being attempted now could have been possible, say in February,” he said.

While the rail track was cleared for traffic on Thursday after repairs, the blockade of National Highway 11 at Sikandra in Dausa district was lifted the previous night itself.

A meeting of the Cabinet, presided over by Ms. Raje, endorsed the decisions of the previous day pertaining 5 per cent reservation to the Gujjars and other three communities and the 14 per cent to the EBCs such as Brahmins, Rajputs, Kayasthas and Vaishyas. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore, briefing journalists on the decisions of the Cabinet meeting, said the government proposed to convene a special session of the Assembly to enact legislation on the reservation.

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