Malik toughens stand against govt

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 30

Jat leaders threatening to re-launch their agitation from June 5 today adopted tough postures even as the state government has put seven districts on alert and is making elaborate arrangements to counter the possibility of the repetition of February incidents of violence.

“We have given the government enough time to honour promises CM Manohar Lal Khattar made to Jats on February 22. But instead of cancelling FIRs against our people, the government is rather instigating people against the Jat community and lodging more cases against us,” said Yashpal Malik, president of the All-India Jat Arakashan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS).

“Is assembly of 125 members of the Jat community in a dharamshala an act of sedition?” Malik asked, referring to the latest FIR registered against him and others. He said what happened in February was an accident and the government should deal with it in that manner.

“Arresting Jat youths and lodging a plethora of FIRs against members of a particular community will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that February violence was orchestrated by the state government.

Meanwhile, the government agencies have started preparing to deal with the upcoming agitation.

A senior government functionary confided that the biggest worry for them was that they were unsure of how officials like SDMs, DSPs, and inspectors etc, who actually have to work on the ground, would perform in the wake of action against several of their colleagues on the basis of the Parkash Singh Committee report.

“There can be two types of fallouts. One, they can overreact and use more force than actually needed. That can result in loss of life thereby forcing the government to go on back foot. In the second scenario, some officials can prefer hospitalising them on one pretext or the other to avoid dealing with the situation. In both the situations, government’s cause is bound to suffer,” he said.

He maintained that the biggest problem with the present government was that it had no inroads amongst the Jats. When the state was burning from February 19 to 24, none of the six Jat BJP MLAs were in their constituency.

Had the MLAs as well as those Jat leaders who lost from their seats tried to persuade Jats, it could have been altogether a different scenario.

Dhankar to defend quota Bill in HC

The state government has hired the services of senior advocate Jagdeep Dhankar, who played a vital role in getting OBC status for the Jats in Rajasthan, to defend its reservation bill in the High Court, states an official spokesperson.

CRPF, police conduct flag march in Bhiwani

Bhiwani: Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and police conducted a joint flag march here today to maintain law and order in view of a meeting of Jat leaders on June 5. The meeting has been called to decide the future course of action against the backdrop of the High Court staying the Jat quota Bill. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Chander Pal said places had been designated for protest and no one would be permitted to come out on roads and rail tracks.