After an agitation that rocked the State and claimed 30 lives, Jat leaders in Haryana have threatened to resume their struggle for reservation if the Manohar Lal Khattar government does not meet their demand by March 17.
“On March 17, we will decide on the next mode of action – whether to block roads, railway tracks or any other type of agitation,” All India Jat Mahasabha chief Yashpal Malik said on Tuesday.
Jat leaders from across the State have decided that community members will hit the streets again if the State government does not act, he said, adding that dharnas this time would also cover the rural areas.
“The State government has time till March 17. So far the government has not responded to any of our demands,” said Akhil Bhartiya Jat Mahasabha president, Hawa Singh Sangwan.
On Monday, members of the community had held demonstrations across the State.
Malik said the “government is keen to crush the members of Jat community even though their protest was peaceful”. He also said the government should control its ministers from issuing statements against the Jat community.
He claimed that the Jat agitation has been organised since 2005 in 13 States, including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Madhya Pardesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, in a “peaceful manner”. Political outfits in Haryana have, for their vested interests, given the Jat community a bad name, he said, even as he sought a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge into incidents of violence in Haryana recently.