Leaders of the agitation by the Jat community have announced that they will be marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan from Jantar Mantar shortly, where they have been sitting in protest since Thursday morning, demanding reservation in educational institutions and government jobs. Thousand of protesters have gathered at Jantar Mantar amid a heavy security cover.
The traffic situation has so far remained manageable but the police has barricaded the protest area. There are no jams or congestion so far as vehicles are not being allowed to stop here. Police estimates put the total number of protesters between 1000 to 1800. Several companies of the Delhi Police and paramilitary have been deployed in the area to keeping law and order in mind, according to a senior police officer.
Participants at the protest, which include members of the community from several North Indian states such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajashthan and Madhya Pradesh, have been brought together by the All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharah Samiti (AIJASS). The AIJASS is demanding reservation for Jats in educational institutions and government jobs under the Other Backward Caste (OBC) quota in addition to the release of those arrested for participating in a similar protest which took a violent turn at many locations in Haryana last year.
