Members of the Jat community gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Thursday to stage a demonstration demanding reservation. The “Jat Nyay Dharna” attracted thousands of agitators from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab, PTI reported.
“Jat Nyay Dharna is being held at Jantar Mantar to seek justice for the community members in Haryana and highlight our quota demand,” said Yashpal Malik, president of Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti. The protestors plan to submit a memorandum with their demands to the president and prime minister. They will also organise a march to Parliament. “Movement will continue till our demands are met, Government has to find solutions,” Malik told ANI.
Other leaders said that life in the Capital would come to a standstill if their demands were not met, reported Hindustan Times.
The Jat community wants reservation in education and government jobs under the Other Backward Classes category. The movement had led to violent protests in February 2016, when thousands of Jats had blocked highways and burnt public properties worth crores. At least 30 people had died and more than 300 people had been injured during the agitation between February 18 and 23. Several protestors were arrested for the violence.
Now, those spearheading the movement not only want the government to grant them reservation but also want those who had been arrested to be freed and cleared of charges. They have also asked the state government to provide jobs to family members of those whi had been killed during the protests.
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