Bayana/Karwadi (PTI): As the Gujjars began their "martyrs' day" protests, the Rajasthan government on Thursday airdropped pamphlets asking the agitators to refrain from violence and take up their Scheduled Tribe status demand with the Centre.

The pamphlets, the contents of which were on the lines of the appeal made by chief minister Vasundara Raje through newspapers advertisements yesterday, were airdropped by an IAF helicopter at Bayana and Karwadi, hotbeds of the weeklong Gujjar agitation, eyewitnesses said.

The agitators at both the places, however, rejected Raje's appeal. They collected the pink-coloured pamphlets and made a bonfire of them. The Gujjars also raised slogans against the chief minister and the state government.

Kirori Singh Bhainsla, the Gujjar leader spearheading the agitation has asked all community members to observe the "martyrs' day" across the country today.

In her appeal, Raje asked the Gujjars to take up their initiatives with the Centre and "use their wisdom" as her government had made recommendations for their quota to the Central government. She also asked the Gujjars to maintain peace in the state.

The Centre has reportedly put the ball back into the state's court by contending that Raje's recommendation for granting reservation to Gujjars by classifying them as nomadic tribe was not legally tenable.