Gujjars occupying the rail track and highways in Rajasthan with the demand for 5% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions called off their agitation on Saturday after the State government gave a written assurance that it would take legal steps to safeguard the quota provided to them in a Bill passed by the Assembly on February 13.
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, who was sitting with hundreds of his supporters on the Delhi-Mumbai section near the Malarna station in Sawai Madhopur district, asked the agitators to lift the blockades that had thrown traffic out of gear and caused inconvenience to the public.
To break the deadlock, Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh carried a draft agreement on behalf of the government to the Gujjars, promising to protect the new reservation provisions with “adequate legal safeguards.” Mr. Singh said the government would pursue the matter with the Centre.
Col. Bainsla (retired) expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to the public since February 8, when the blockades were put up. He called upon the Union government to get the new Act, recognising Gujjars as an “extremely backward class,” included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to protect it from being challenged in courts.
The three pieces of legislation enacted in the State since 2008, giving 5% reservation to Gujjars and four other nomadic communities as a Special Backward Class, were struck down by the Rajasthan High Court.
The court ruled that the quota exceeded the 50% limit mandated by the Supreme Court and was not supported by the quantifiable data.
Col. Bainsla, who led the stir as convener of the Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said the decision to call off the protest was taken “in the interest of the nation.”
“We have got 5% reservation. If an issue arises at a later stage, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has promised us that he would intervene,” he said.
While the 82-year-old retired Lieutenant Colonel of Indian Army along with his supporters occupied the Delhi-Mumbai railway tracks, the Gujjar agitators later blocked the Sawai Madhopur-Jaipur rail track at Chauth Ka Barwara as well as several major roads across the State, including the Jaipur-Agra national highway. The blockades led to cancellation, diversion and short termination of about 200 trains and suspension of bus services during the last nine days.
Col. Bainsla said the agreement signed by him carried the government’s assurance on effective implementation of the Deonarain scheme for the welfare of Gujjars, filling of vacancies and consideration of withdrawal of criminal cases filed during the earlier agitations.
In addition to Gujjars, the four other nomadic communities which have got the 5% quota are Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Raika and Gadariya. They were earlier getting 1% quota in the “most backward” category, in addition to the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota, within the 50% ceiling.
The Rajasthan Backward Classes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutes in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Amendment Bill, 2019, unanimously passed by the Assembly on February 13, amended an Act of 2017 and made a provision for 5% reservation to Gujjars and others, terming them “extremely backward classes.” Following this, the quota in the State now stands at 54%.
