The meeting between Jat leaders, led by Akhil Bharatiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti national president Yashpal Malik, and a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma at Panipat on Thursday ended on a positive note with both sides reaching a consensus on most of the issues.
The Jat leaders are expected to make an announcement calling off the ongoing agitation in a joint press conference with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi on Friday afternoon.
Speaking to The Hindu over phone, Mr. Malik said that discussions were held on all the demands raised by the community leaders and consensus was reached on most of them. “Another round of meeting is scheduled with the Chief Minister at Haryana Bhawan in Delhi on Friday and a final draft of possible agreement would then be prepared. An important announcement could be made at the joint press conference with the Chief Minister in the afternoon,” said Mr. Malik, adding that some minor hiccups were left in reaching the agreement.
‘Matter almost resolved’
Sources said the matter was almost resolved and only a formal announcement was to be made now.
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Kumar Bedi and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Kamal Gupta were also present in the meeting that went on for over five hours.
Some of the major demands of the Jat protesters holding dharnas at 30 sites across Haryana for the last 47 days include withdrawal of cases registered against the community members during the reservation violence last year, ex-gratia to the injured, permanent jobs to the next of kin of those killed and action against BJP’s Kurukshetra MP Rajkumar Saini for making unsavoury remarks against eminent Jat personalities.
