Gurjar Protests: After Mahapanchayat, Protesters Halt Passenger Train Near Bayana In Bharatpur

Bharatpur: A section of Gurjar leaders launched a fresh agitation by halting a train at Peelupura near Bayana in Bharatpur on the Delhi-Mumbai rail route. A large number of community members gathered on the railway track and stopped the Kota-Mathura passenger train shortly after the conclusion of the Gurjar Mahapanchayat on Sunday in Karwari village to press for long-standing demands, including the complete implementation of 5 per cent reservation in government jobs for the community.

Subsequently, the district police cleared the protesters from the rail tracks.

Earlier, the Gurjar Reservation Sangarsh Samithi and the state government reached an agreement, however, the situation immediately changed. Some youths began protesting and removed fishplates (joint bars) from the track and pelted stones at a train.

During the Mahapanchayat, Vijay Bainsla announced that the state government sent a positive draft and they reached an agreement on seven demands. He said the government would make a proposal at the cabinet level and send it to the centre to include 5 percent reservation in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution. After this announcement, they declared the Mahapanchayat concluded.

Earlier Bainsla said that any future discussions with the government must take place in front of the community. "There will be no talks in closed rooms. We have given the government our route chart. If they wish to talk, they must come and do so openly, in the presence of society," he said.

One of the primary concerns highlighted for agitation is the "ineffective" implementation of the Devnarayan Yojana, a scheme intended to support the educational and economic development of the Gurjar community. "For us, Devnarayan Yojana is like the Gita, but it is not being implemented properly. Our children are struggling to study. Justice is still awaited for the 2008 agitation," Bainsla added.