Jaipur: Agitating Gujjars in Rajasthan, demanding 5 per cent quota in state jobs, on Thursday held second round of talks with the government after which the two sides said that the negotiations were moving in the positive direction.
"The meeting was held amicably and the community is ready for next round of talks. We have requested all of our public representatives including MP Sachin Pilot and state minister Jitendra Singh to discuss the issue with the community here, and then a collective decision will be taken regarding the time and venue of the next meeting," Roop Singh, a close aide of Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla, said.
Singh also said that the talks were heading in a positive direction. However, he maintained that Gujjars will continue to block the rail tracks till the matter is solved.
"The meeting was held in a cordial manner and another round of talks is likely to be held soon. Gujjars are satisfied on several other matters but the 5 per cent reservation issue is yet to be resovled," G S Sandhu, Principal Secretary Urban Development, said after holding the meeting.
"We have given them nine points of discussion and they after sharing it with their people would decide about the next meeting," he said.
"Developments are positive and we hope that the issue would be resolved soon," he said.
Earlier in the day, a delegation of Gujjars met government emissaries at a village near the agitation site and disscused their demands including 5 per cent reservation in state jobs, compensation to the family of those killed in the past agitations, withdrawal of cases against protesters, and sought assurance from the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other leaders on the issue.
Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla asked all the MLAs, MPs and other public representatives of the community to discuss the quota issue at Pilukapura before the next round of talks with the government in order to resolve the issue in a positive manner.
Sriram Bainsla, a member of the Gujjar delegation, said, "We asked the government officials to call Ashok Gehlot, Jitendra Singh, C P Joshi, Sachin Pilot and DGP Harish Meena here to hold talks and give an assurance that the government is really committed to accord us five per cent reservation.
"We also put our demand for compensation to the families of those killed in the past agitations and withdrawal of cases against our people. The government has assured us for positive action and we are satisfied on that.
"Now remains the issue of 5 per cent reservation, we will discuss it with our people and take a collective decision," he said.
Besides Sandhu, the government team at today's talks at Kaalwari village, around 2 km from Pilukapura, comprised Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Rajeshwar Singh, Bharatpur District Collector K Kunal and Pali District Collector Neeraj K Pawan.
This was the second round of talks between the two sides. The first round of talks was held on Sunday at Pilukapura with Energy Minister Jitendra Singh representing the state government.
The High Court on December 22 had stayed the operation of an Act granting five per cent reservation to Gujjars and directed the state government to undertake a data collection exercise to justify the quota for members of the community.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Mahesh Bhagwati asked the government to complete the quantifiable data collection exercise within a year to justify the quota for Gujjars under the Special Backward Class category.
Gujjars have been blocking Mumbai-Delhi rail tracks and Jaipur-Agra National Highway and several other roads for the past ten days in support of their demand for five per cent reservation in government jobs.
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