The Hindu : Front Page : Talks today in Gujjar stronghold

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Monday, Jun 09, 2008
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Talks today in Gujjar stronghold

Mohammed Iqbal

Proposal to conclude them in Jaipur

Raje has taken a “step ahead,”
says Bainsla
Agitators block Highway in
Ajmer district

JAIPUR: The fortnight-long deadlock over the Gujjar agitation seemed to break on Sunday, with the Rajasthan government and the Gujjar leadership agreeing to hold the first round of dialogue at Bayana — a stronghold of the community in Bharatpur district — on Monday.

The talks are proposed to be concluded here.

While two government representatives will go to Bayana, where Principal Secretary S.N. Thanvi is already camping, Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti leader Kirori Singh Bainsla nominated a 40-member delegation to represent the community at the negotiating table.

For smaller group

The government, however, urged Mr. Bainsla to cut further the size of the group.

The two sides had insisted on their choice of the venue for talks on the Gujjars’ demand for the Scheduled Tribe status. After hectic efforts and exchange of words throughout Sunday, the government relented and found the way ahead through a compromise.

Mr. Bainsla told reporters at Pilupura – where the protesters had blocked the Delhi-Mumbai rail route – that Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had taken a “step ahead” by agreeing to start the dialogue.

“We have been demanding since the beginning that talks should be held at Bayana, as this would help address the real issues,” he said.

He is likely to come here after the initial round of talks.

Mr. Bainsla earlier gave a list of 45 Gujjar representatives, but reduced it to 40 when the government hinted that talking to a smaller group would be convenient.

Official sources said the government was trying to get the delegation’s size further reduced and keep out the 13 Gujjar leaders from outside the State nominated to the group.

Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party State president Om Prakash Mathur and party MP Ramdas Agrawal – who headed a committee to finalise a “development package” for Gujjars – conducted an aerial survey of the area in Bharatpur district affected by the agitation, including Bayana and Pilupura, where Gujjar protesters are squatting on the railway track.

Agitators blocked National Highway No. 79 near Nasirabad in Ajmer district for eight hours, leading to a traffic jam and long queues of vehicles on both sides.

The police arrested three persons near the railway track in Pilupura and booked them under the Arms Act after seizing their loaded weapons. The official sources said the police and paramilitary forces were frisking people in the area.

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