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Talks with Gujjars held in cordial atmosphere

Sunny Sebastian

Both groups agree to continue the dialogue today at the same venue; State may send another letter to the Centre

— Photo: PTI

Making headway: BJP leaders Ramdas Agarwal (centre), Omprakash Mathur (left) and Gujjar leader Mansuk Choudhary at a press conference after the talks in Jaipur on Friday.

JAIPUR: The second round of talks between Gujjars agitating for Scheduled Tribe status and the Rajasthan government started here on Friday in, what both sides described as, a “very cordial atmosphere.” The two-hour talks, held at the Rajasthan Institute of Public Administration (RIPA) between a nine-member government team and a 28-member Gujjar delegation, remained inconclusive. The Gujjar leader, Kirori Singh Bainsla, was not present

Both sides agreed to continue the talks at the same venue from 11 a.m. on Saturday. The first round was held at Bayana in Bharatpur district on Monday. The day’s talks were facilitated after the Sessions Court on Thursday granted bail to 25 Gujjar women taken into custody a week ago for laying siege to the railway line at Bandikui in Dausa district. The women were released from the Alwar jail on Friday.

The issues discussed included the demand for payment of Rs.10 lakh to the families of the deceased, government jobs to a member of each bereaved family, relief to the injured persons, release of the arrested and withdrawal of cases against Gujjars, besides the basic issue of the State sending a letter to the Centre recommending ST status.

The government said it could consider sending yet another letter to the Centre in this regard.

“Despite the prevailing tension, the talks could be held in a very cordial atmosphere,” Ramdas Agarwal, Bharatiya Janata Party MP, who led the talks on behalf of the government, told journalists. “Such peaceful parleys normally do not take place during agitations,” he said.

The agitation has claimed 39 lives so far and is holding up traffic on the Delhi-Mumbai rail route at Pilupura and the Jaipur-Agra road traffic at Sikandra on National Highway 11.

“The government [representatives] gave a patient and sympathetic hearing to the demands as well as grievances of the Gujjar community,” said Masood Choudhary, Vice- Chancellor of Baba Gulam Shah Badshah University, Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, who led the Gujjar team. “We hope there will be a solution acceptable to both sides soon,” he said. Mr. Choudhary termed the agitation a “national issue.”

The Gujjar leaders said Mr. Bainsla, continuing his sit-in at Pilupura in the Bayana tehsil for the 22nd day, would be briefed on the meeting. Any decision would be taken only after his approval,” Mr. Choudhary said.

The Gujjar Ministers in the Cabinet — Kalulal Gujjar and Nathu Singh Gujjar — were in the delegation, in addition to Laxminarayan Dave and Sanwarlal Jat, Ministers who participated in Monday’s talks. The other members were State BJP president Omprakash Mathur, senior bureaucrats, S.N. Thanvi, Malvika Pawar and Sunil Arora.

The Gujjar delegation comprised Rambir Singh Bidhuri, Delhi MLA, Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria, Haryana MLA, and leaders from various other States, Sardar Singh, Sher Singh Tanwar, Ranvir Chandela, Tikaram Patel, Subhash Choudhary and V.C. Choudhary.

During the day, a six-member team from the National Human Rights Commission, led by Senior Superintendent of Police Mukesh Singh, reached Pilupura to probe the alleged human rights violations against the agitating Gujjars. The team’s arrival was prompted by a complaint from Sunil Bainsla and Anuraj Kasana charging the authorities with not following set norms before opening fire.

The Home Department has already filed a reply to the NHRC on a notice issued to the Chief Secretary.

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