Leaders of the Jat community threatened to withdraw their support from the BJP ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, unless their demand for reservation is met.
Jat leaders from all across the country gathered under the banner of the All India Jat Arakshan Bachao Maha Andolan (AIJABMA), alleging that the BJP government had “cheated the community” by giving forward castes 10 percent reservation “within seven days” instead of meeting the community’s original demand for quota akin to the kind the Marathas had agitated for not too long ago, The Indian Express reported.
Three years after the 2016 Jat agitation for reservation in Haryana left almost 30 dead, Jat leaders in Uttar Pradesh stated that they would switch their votes to BSP supremo Mayawati as she was the only one who had reportedly supported their quota demand.
They claimed that the BSP leader was also the only one who had criticised the government for their action against the Jats amid the agitation.
‘Jats Won’t be Manipulated Anymore’
“The UPA government had given us reservation in central jobs. But when it was challenged in the Supreme Court, the present NDA government deliberately did not argue our case well and the government order was quashed. Since then, the Narendra Modi government has just been giving us assurances,” Dharamveer Chaudhary, Chief Coordinator of AIJABM said at a press briefing, The Indian Express reported.
“I warn the government that Jats won’t be manipulated anymore. We will campaign in 131 constituencies where Jats have a significant population to defeat the BJP.”Dharamveer Chaudhary, as reported by The Indian Express
Chaudhary further alleged that although the Centre had formed a committee to look into the matter of reservation for Jats, under the charge of BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu in 2015, it had not met even once since.
BJP Makes Promises, But Doesn’t ‘Walk The Talk’
Despite the Jat leaders meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah back in 2015 to discuss the issue, Chaudhary stated that they and other BJP leaders always promised to give way to the community’s demands for reservation, but never actually “walked the talk.”
“We have held thousands of meetings and rallies. So many of our boys are in jail. But nothing has happened. When it came to giving reservation to the forward castes, the government has finalised everything in seven days. We have been agitating for years. In Haryana, this is going to be the core issue. It will have political implications.”Dr Prem Kumar, a Jat leader, at the press briefing, The Indian Express reported
The Jat leaders also spoke about how the community needs to vote for those who “support them.”
“Our appeal is to vote for those who talk about our rights. In UP, Mayawati has supported our cause and said Jats must get reservation. She had also attacked the government for taking brutal action against agitators in Haryana,” said Chaudhary, as reported by The Indian Express.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)