Jat body to take out ‘brotherhood’ rally at Rohtak on Aug 27

Chandigarh, Aug 17 (PTI) All India Jat Arakshan SangarshSamiti (AIJASS), which is spearheading the Jat quota stir,will take out a ‘bhaichara’ rally at Rohtak on August 27 todecide on the next course of action. Accusing the BJP government in Haryana of not honouringthe promises made to them, AIJASS president Yashpal Maliktoday said, "We will take out a ‘bhaichara’ (brotherhood)rally at Rohtak on August 27 where several khap members andthose from other communities who are aggrieved by the HighCourt’s stay order will be invited to decide on the nextcourse of the agitation." "We will discuss why the state government is not acceptingour demands and how to go about the agitation," he said. AIJASS, which had called off its protest in June, hadgiven the state government time till August 31 to resolve theissues raised by them. Release of "innocent youths" arrested during the Februaryagitation, adequate compensation and job to the next of kin ofthose who lost their lives during the protest, sincere effortson part of the state government to get the High Court’s stayorder on the quota granted to Jats and five other communitiesvacated and withdrawal of cases against protesters are some ofthe major demands of AIJASS. Malik accused the state government of adopting a"lackadaisical approach" in getting the stay vacated by thePunjab and Haryana High Court. "There are deficiencies in theefforts of the state government in pursuing the matter in thecourt. Some officers are misleading the Chief Minister on thequota issue," he alleged. Malik also accused the state government of delaying thenotification on the "creamy layer" pertaining to reservation. However, the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryanatoday notified the criteria for the exclusion of the "creamylayer" within the Backward Classes category as per theschedule appended to the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservationin Services and Admission in Educational Institution) Act,2016. The Haryana government had granted a 10-per cent quota toJats and five other communities in government jobs andeducational institutions in the state by carving out theBackward Class ‘C’ category following the February protests. However, it was stayed by the High Court in May. Malik also expressed dissatisfaction over no decision bythe state government on releasing the "innocent youths"arrested during the February agitation and the compensation tothe next of kin of those who lost their lives during theprotests. PTI CHS AKA RC SKRC