After talks with Manohar Lal Khattar, Jats agree to withdraw their Jind rally

Paramilitary jawans arrive in Rohtak, Haryana on Sunday, ahead of BJP president Amit Shah's Jind rally on Feb 15. Pic/PTI

In a development that will give a relief to Haryana's ruling BJP, the Jats have decided not to hold their rally in Jind on February 15, when BJP chief Amit Shah will attend a bike rally in the town, after marathon talks between the community leaders and the state government. The decision was announced late tonight after Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union minister Birender Singh, senior BJP leader Anil Jain, held a five-hour-long meeting with a jat delegation led by All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti president Yashpal Malik in New Delhi.

Khattar had yesterday invited Malik to hold talks in an apparent bid to pacify the angry Jats who had threatened to disrupt the BJP chief's proposed rally. After the talks, Malik said the Haryana government has decided to withdraw all cases registered in connection with the violence which broke out during a Jat quota agitation in the state in February 2016. The issue of reservation and the registration of cases were discussed in detail, he said. The Jat body had threatened to disrupt BJP chief Amit Shah's rally alleging non-fulfilment of their demands after which Haryana had sought 150 companies of central forces as a preventive measure.

The Jat outfit had planned to take out their own rally in Jind on February 15 with 50,000 tractor-trolleys to disrupt Shah's bike rally. Replying to a question, Malik told reporters the state government will place before the Backward Class Commission data collected by it by March 31 to decide the reservation percentage. About the cases registered during the quota stir, he said, "The cases within the Haryana government's domain, all such cases will be taken back. Other issue pertaining to compensation to injured during the reservation agitation (in 2016) and jobs too have been resolved".

To a query, Malik said the Jats will observe "Balidan Divas" in a peaceful manner on February 18. "We want peace and brotherhood to prevail in the state and all of us contribute towards the state's progress." Earlier, the AIJASS had said it would hold "Bhaichara Nyaya Yatra" at Jind on February 15 to seek answers from the government for allegedly not fulfilling the promises made to the Jat community. The Haryana government had recently given its nod to the withdrawal of 70 FIRs registered in connection with the Jat quota stir violence.

During the past nearly two years, the government has approved withdrawal of 223 cases, in which a total of 2,027 people are accused, Home Secretary S S Prasad said earlier. These cases were filed in February 2016 after the Jat quota stir in the state turned violent. Around 30 people were killed and more than 300 people injured when the agitation resulted in large-scale violence.

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