Gujjar stir: Central forces rush to Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry today dispatched 1,500 personnnel of central paramilitary forces to Rajasthan to assist the state government to deal with the situation arising out of the ongoing Gujjar agitation.

The central forces will be deployed along with Rajasthan Police personnel to maintain law and order and foil any attempt by any one to disturb peace, sources said.

Union Home Secretary Gopal K Pillai also spoke to Rajasthan Chief Secretary Salauddin Ahmed and discussed with him the prevailing situation in the state and assured him all central help to maintaining normalcy.

Rail and road traffic remained affected as the agitators continued to squat on rail tracks and blocked roads in Bharatpur district.

Gujjars have been agitating for the last two days in support of their demands, including quota in jobs. The Ashok Gehlot government has said it was ready for talks to end the impasse.

The Rajasthan High Court earlier in the day stayed the operation of a 2008 state act granting five per cent reservation for them and directed the state government to undertake a data collection exercise to justify the quota for members of the community.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Mahesh Bhagwati asked the government to complete the quantifiable data collection exercise within a year to justify the quota for Gujjars under the Special Backward Class category.