Even as the BJP government has assured Gujjars and four other communities that the benefits of Other Backward Classes (OBC) category would be restored to them, Gujjar leaders here on Friday decided to go ahead with a ‘Mahapanchayat’ planned in Sikandra on Saturday to raise the issue of reservation.
A Cabinet sub-committee headed by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Arun Chaturvedi, which met Gujjars on Thursday, said the State government would re-include five communities in the OBC list from December 9, 2016, when the Rajasthan High Court had scrapped quota for them under the newly created Special Backward Class (SBC).
Mr. Chaturvedi said the State government had also appointed a committee to examine how the 1% SBC quota, along with the OBC benefit, given in 2010 could be restored to Gujjars and others till the matter is settled by the Supreme Court, which is hearing the State government’s special leave petition against the High Court’s judgment.
The High Court had earlier this month passed an order in a matter of one Nepal Singh allowing the extension of OBC benefits from the date the SBC quota was struck down.
However, Gujjar leader Himmat Singh said a massive public meeting would be organised as scheduled at Sikandra in Dausa district, 70 km from here, on Saturday to launch an agitation for getting 5% separate quota within the 50% cap on reservation imposed by the Supreme Court.
“The State government has deceived us every time we opened a dialogue with them. The Sikandra Mahapanchayat will mark a new phase in our agitation for reservation,” said Mr. Singh.
