No result yet; eyes on Bainsla, Raje

As the third round of talks between government officials and the 28-member team of the Gurjjars ended late in the afternoon in Jaipur...

As the third round of talks between government officials and the 28-member team of the Gurjjars ended late in the afternoon in Jaipur, there were rumours that they had been “successful” and Kirori Singh Bainsla, spearheading the agitation, readied himself for a “victory speech” from atop the railway track in Pilupura.

When Bainsla covered nearly 500-metre distance to receive four members of the team, confirmed news came in. Disappointed, he reiterated the demand for “nothing but ST status for the community in Rajasthan”. “There is no other offer or resolution that we will accept,” he said.

However, the Rajasthan Government faced trouble on another front on Saturday night when two BJP MLAs belonging to the Meena community resigned in an apparent pressure tactic against granting tribal status to Gurjjars.

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The resignations came even as Ramdas Agarwal, state Government’s special envoy, claimed at the end of the third round of talks that the two sides were “moving towards a solution”, raising prospects of an early end to the 23-day-old stir by Gurjjars to be listed as ST. The final round of talks might be held soon, he added.

BJP MLA Kantiprasad Meena resigned shortly after former Rajasthan minister and his colleague Kirori Lal Meena quit his Assembly seat in protest against the handling of the agitation by the BJP Government.

Kirori Lal Meena, who resigned from the Vasundhara Raje Cabinet over the Gurjjar issue, told reporters, “I am resigning as MLA in protest against the way the Gurjjar agitation has been dealt with by the Government.”

Three other Meena MLAs — Kanhaiyalal Meena (Independent MLA supporting BJP) and two BSP MLAs Murarilal Meena and Suresh Meena — warned that they would also tender their resignation if Gurjjars were given ST status.

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The state Government has asked Bainsla to come to the state capital for the final round of talks. Both Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Bainsla have stayed away from the parleys so far.

Meanwhile, increasing police activity in Bayana and deployment of extra forces around the village has raised suspicion among the Gurjjars, and sources in the police say there is a possibility of violence erupting in and around the village soon. “The area is tense (again),” a senior officer in Bayana administration told The Indian Express. “Orders have been given by the higher-ups to take (better) control of the area.”

On the build-up in the area, Advocate Attar Singh, a close aide of Bainsla, said, “The intention of the Government is suspicious. On the one hand, they have been holding talks and, on the other, they have deployed forces to (probably) attack us.”

Meanwhile, three teams of the NHRC visited villages across the districts where protests were held on May 23 to record statements of the alleged police victims.

(With PTI)