Can lose OBC status in UP, says Jat leader

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, March 11

All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) president Yashpal Malik has said the community may lose Other Backward Classes (OBC) status in Uttar Pradesh after Assembly election results.

Talking to The Tribune today, Malik said communal polarisation had driven Jats to siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh.

“This can have an adverse impact on Jats, who are in the OBC category in Uttar Pradesh. They are at the risk of losing this status after the poll results,” he said.

Indicating that the new BJP government could withdraw OBC status in Uttar Pradesh, he stated that the agitation for inclusion in this category would continue in Haryana till their demands were met.

“We will continue the stir with added strength to protect reservation. The samiti will hold a march to Delhi on March 20 as planned,” he said.

“I will visit Rohtak and Bhiwani districts tomorrow to take stock of the preparations for the proposed march,” he added.

Malik claimed that his call to vote against the BJP forced Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah to make clear gestures towards Jats during electioneering.

“Modi referred to Charan Singh eight times in a rally in western Uttar Pradesh. Shah has to assure Jats that our demands will be met,” he said.

Jats in Uttar Pradesh had kept their word by supporting the BJP and now it was the turn of its government to fulfil their demands, he added.

His detractor and Sarv Jatia Khap Panchayat spokesperson Sube Singh Samain urged agitating Jats to discard Malik and hold direct talks with the state government.

“The election results have exposed that Malik has no base in his home state. He has been trying to fool people of Haryana with his falsehood. It is time to have a compromise minus Malik,” he said.

Samain said the state government and agitating Jats should give up their adamant stand and hold talks to end the standoff. “People should not fulfil Malik’s wish of observing black Holi,” he added.