Gujjars plan to choke Delhi on Dec 29

Life in Rajasthan continued to be disrupted for the ninth day following the ‘Rail Roko’ agitation by ethnic Gujjars even as they announced their plan to shut the national capital on Dec 29 demanding five percent job reservation in the state government services.

The stand off between the Ashok Gehlot’s Congress government and the Gujjars not only is damaging the economy of the region but it also spilled to other parts of the country effecting traffic to Delhi and Mumbai.

The tourist traffic also came down in the past weeks following uncertainty over the agitation.

The deadlock in quota talks between the Rajasthan government and Gujjars hit hard the tourism in Rajasthan, one of India’s top tourist destinations of the country.

Whist the government is not ready to concede five percent job reservation demand, the Gujjars are also adamant for it.

The community leaders have called go ahead with their Dec 29 “Mayapanchayat” in Delhi and threatened to shutdown the National Capital Region thereafter.

The government said the 5 percent quota for the community was uncalled for.

“The government is serious about ensuring the Gujjars gets 5 percent reservation, but for that we have to get data. So, selection of an agency to compile the data in time is important,” said energy and higher education minister Jitender Singh.

On Sunday, Singh had gone to Bayana to talk to Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla. But the talks failed to break the impasse.

CM Ashok Gehlot also met Union rural development minister C P Joshi and other leaders trying to find a way out of the deadlock.

There was a complete bandh in Ajmer on Monday. Violences were reported on the Dholpur-Agra highway where the road was blocked.

The Gujjars have called a Dholpur bandh on Tuesday.