Gurjars relent after 17 days, to hold talks with govt today

New Delhi: After 17 days of agitation, the Gurjars and the Rajasthan government will finally hold talks on Monday. Representatives from each side are expected to meet in Bayana, Bharatpur district.

Apart from the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, Gurjar leader Colonel Kirori Singh Bainsla is also expected to bring up the issue of the release of 15 Gurjars arrested from a hospital in Jaipur on Sunday night.

On Saturday, the state government had agreed for the first round talks with Gurjar leaders at Bayana, but said Bainsla's delegation should not exceed 15 members.

However, the government said the final round of talks will have to be held in Jaipur and Bainsla had agreed to this condition. But the Colonel has made it clear that the Gurjars will settle for nothing short of ST status.

Bainsla, who is presently camping in violence-hit Karwadi-Pilupura area, about five kilometers from Bayana, said that if the preliminary talks were "fruitful" and held in a "conducive" atmosphere, he would to go to Jaipur for further parleys.

According to reports, Rajasthan government's chief negotiator SN Thanvi was expected to go to Jaipur to seek instruction from the top state political leadership before proceeding for the first round.

Attempts by the state government to bring Bainsla to the negotiating table had failed on Saturday as the two sides refused to budge on their stand over the choice of the venue.

While the state authorities wanted the parleys to be held in Jaipur, Bainsla insisted that they take place in Bayana.

Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's earlier offer to the Gurjar leadership to hold talks had also failed on the same ground.

Meanwhile, the Centre has told the Rajasthan government that the state is constitutionally empowered to grant denotified or nomadic tribe status to the Gurjars.

In an election year, the state government would want to bring down temperatures and restore normalcy, but they also have to take into account other communities who have also been asking for ST status.

The violent agitation by the Gurjars since May 23 has claimed the lives of 43 people in police firing and clashes.

(With agency inputs)