JAIPUR: The Jat community's honeymoon with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan appears to have ended in the wake of the recent murders of its leaders in Sikar and Nagaur and the general resentment over the community being sidelined by the State Government. The twin murders in Deedwana town in Nagaur district have once again placed the old caste rivals, the Rajputs and Jats, in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation making the balancing act between the two warring communities difficult for the Vasundhara Raje Government.

Govt. warned

At a well-attended public meeting in Deedwana earlier this week addressed by leaders from the Congress, the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Jat Mahasabha warned the State Government against any further delay in arresting the killers of Jeevanram Godara and another person in June. The Mahasabha, which earlier had announced a siege in Deedwana on July 8, finally held it on July 18.

The Deedwana meeting, held at Baldeo Ram Mirdha Park and lasting six hours, should be all the more depressing for the State Government as it was attended by other backward communities such as Gujjars and Malis, Scheduled Caste Meghwals and Scheduled Tribe Meenas, besides Muslims. Jat and Gujjar leaders had come from as far as Delhi and Haryana to address the meeting, which decided on a siege of Jaipur on August 11.

Congress presence

It was not entirely a non-BJP show at Deedwana as the party MP from Churu, Ram Singh Kaswan, MLA Mangla Ram and former MLA Roopa Ram Moravatia were among those addressed the meeting. Yet there was an overwhelming presence of Congress leaders such as former MPs Narendra Budhania, Ramraghunath Choudhary, Sona Ram, former Minister Harendra Mirdha, and Suchitra Arya MLA. CPI (M) MLA Amra Ram also addressed the rally, besides the Congress leader from Jodhpur, Badri Jakhar.

Nexus alleged

Rajasthan Jat Mahasabha president Rajaram Meel, who lately has been speaking aloud against the State Government, hinted at the alleged nexus between three Ministers in the Raje Government from Nagaur district and the accused. "The Government should not think Jats are weak," he warned. The Jat Mahasabha had played an active role in the 2003 Rajasthan Assembly elections to bring the BJP back to power.

"The meeting posed an open challenge to the Government. The community is going to confront the Government on the issue. All the OBCs, SCs, STs and minorities are with it," said Harendra Mirdha talking on the phone from Nagaur.

Initially as the Jat community demanded arrest of the accused in the murder of Mr. Godara, the Rajput community exerted pressure warning the Government against harassing "innocent" persons. The issue was first settled with Rajputs after Ms. Raje's emissaries, Public Works Department Minister Rajendra Singh Rathore and Water Resources Minister Sanwarlal Jat, talking to the leaders of the Rajput Sabha. The leaders of the Jat community also were involved in a similar dialogue but in the absence of any arrests taking place the feelings of the group could not be assuaged.

"We had had enough of this Government. We plan to march with lathis to Jaipur. The community is collecting an amount of Rs.2.5 crore for the occasion," said D.S.Choudhary of Jat Mahasabha from Nagaur.

Lathis are not the end of it. The Rajputs, more familiar with metal than wood, have promised to march to Jaipur carrying naked swords in their hands.

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