Now, Jats demand OBC quota

{image-obc reservation_02072008.jpg news.oneindia.in}New Delhi, Jul 2 : A conglomeration of 28 organisations of Jats from all over the country on Wednesday, June 2, demanded inclusion of the community in the OBC category and promised 'Gandhiwadi' ways to achieve their ''just demands''.

Addressing the media, former Calcutta High Court chief justice D S Tevtiya, who is also the president of the newly formed 'Jat Aarakshan Sangh Samiti', said the Gurnam Singh Commission report had listed Jats below the Sainis, Ahirs and Tyagis in status in the OBC list, and yet we have been deprived of the reservation benefit.

''When Jats have been included into the OBC category in five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi -- why can't the Haryana government include us?'' Stating that Jats comprised 30 per cent of Haryana population, which affected 30-33 seats of the state Assembly's total 90 seats, the former sChief Justice emphasised that the community would vote only for that party which promised reservation to them.

Demanding that the community be included in the reserved category in Haryana as well as in the Union government list, the JASS leader said only democratic means would be used to attain the objective.

''We would only keep to Gandhian ways to get our demands and hope the government will not compel us to resort to any other agitation.'' Informing that a memorandum to this effect had already been sent to the Haryana chief minister, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Mr Tevtiya said for the first time 28 Jat organisations had joined hands to get their due rights from the government.

''Our demands are just and we will get it. And for this we will generate public opinion in the coming days and then talk with the government,'' he said and added that for long the community's just demands have not met the desired results because of fragmented appeals.

UNI