Jats call off quota stir after talks with Manohar Lal Khattar

NEW DELHI: Jats on Sunday called off their quota agitation scheduled for Sunday in the national capital, following a truce that was reached after a meeting between the leaders of the community and the Haryana government.

Jat leaders decided to call off their agitation after a marathon four-hour meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and two Union Ministers Birender Singh and PP Chaudhary who both are Jats.

“Jat reservation process at centre will begin after appointment of chairman and members of National Commission for Backward Classes... I appeal to the people to cooperate to maintain peace and harmony,” Khattar said in a joint press conference along with All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) Chairperson Yashpal Malik.


He also appealed to people in the state to cooperate in maintaining peace and harmony. “Ab Jat Dilli na aa rahe (Now Jats are not coming to Delhi). We have called off our agitation and march towards Delhi. The state government has agreed to our demands,” Malik told reporters after the meeting.

He added that the community will call off its dharna from most of the places in the state, barring few where it will continue with symbolic protests.

This development follows a clash earlier in the day in Fatehabad district in Haryana between the protesters and the police which left four cops injured, including a deputy superintendent of police.

The clash took place on the Sirsa-Hisar-Delhi highway when the Delhi-bound protesters, who were on tractortrolleys, were stopped. Police had reportedly used force, including tear gas, as the protesters pelted them with stones. According to the Haryana Police, eighteen police personnel, including an SP and a DSP, were among the 35 injured.