Hry Govt has bowed before "unjust demands of Jats": BJP MP

BJP MP from Kurukshetra, Raj Kumar Saini, who has been opposing reservation for Jats, today lashed out at his party led government in Haryana for "bowing" before Jat leaders.

Saini said he would not attend a public rally to be addressed by BJP president, Amit Shah, at Jind tomorrow.

"The way BJP government in Haryana agreed to the demands raised by Jats, it became clear that it had proved to weak before the pressure being mounted by the Jat community," Saini told reporters at his residence here.

He said the government may be working to appease the Jat community in view of next year's elections, but it had exposed the real face of BJP before the public.
 

Saini accused his party of playing votebank politics to appease the Jat community and said BJP will have to pay a price for this.

He said while several Dera Sacha Sauda followers had been put behind bars in connection with the violence which broke out after the sect chief's conviction in a rape case in August last year, "ironically, the government has decided to withdraw cases against Jat agitation rioters who indulged in violence during the February 2016 quota stir".

Saini alleged the government had given in to the pressure mounted by All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangarsh Samiti chief Yashpal Malik.

Notably, the AIJASS had announced that it would protest BJP chief Amit Shah's bike rally to be held in Jind tomorrow, but withdrew its stir call after an agreement with the government on Sunday night in which Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had agreed to withdraw the cases lodged in connection with the reservation agitation.

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 in the large-scale violence.

Haryana government had recently given nod to the withdrawal of 70 FIRs registered in connection with the February 2016 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 persons were accused, state Home Secretary S S Prasad had said earlier.