Members of the Mali and four Other Backward Class (OBC) communities on Tuesday called off their agitation for 12% separate reservation in education and government jobs, and lifted the blockade on the Jaipur-Agra National Highway near Bharatpur, which began on April 21. The protesters made the decision following talks with the Rajasthan State OBC Commission.
The people belonging to Mali, Saini, Kushwaha, Maurya and Shakya communities have been demanding a 12% quota within the OBC category, proportionate to their population — estimated to be 1.50 crore. The present reservation available to them is stated to be inadequate, as most of the families are from the below poverty line category.
A delegation of protesters met OBC Commission’s Chairperson Justice Bhanwaru Khan here on Monday. They were assured that a survey on the socio-economic conditions of OBC communities would be conducted shortly across the State. The Commission has asked the Collectors of all districts to send the reports within 10 days.
Phule Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti’s convener Murari Lal Saini told reporters at the protest site near Arauda village in Bharatpur district that the 21-member delegation had asked the Commission to conduct the survey at the earliest and send the results to the State government, so that a decision on giving reservation could be taken before this year’s Assembly election.
Mr. Saini said if the demands were not met and action not taken, the protesting communities would once again meet to decide their further course of action. The latest protest was the second such agitation within a year after the group of OBC communities had blocked the highway at the same place with the similar demand in June 2022 as well.
Hundreds of people agitating for reservation camped in tents after blocking a one-kilometre stretch of the National Highway-21 near Arauda village with bricks and stones for 12 days. The traffic on the highway was diverted through different routes several kilometres before the protest site and the district administration suspended mobile internet services in the region to check the spread of rumours.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who belongs to the Mali community, had appealed to the protesters to end their agitation, while pointing out that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had written a letter to the Prime Minister seeking the inclusion of caste in the next census. The protesters had met Mr. Gehlot in Jaipur on April 25, when he asked them to hold discussions with the OBC Commission.
Other demands of the protesters included the formation of a Luv Kush Welfare Board and hostel facilities for the children from the OBC communities. After the agitating people vacated the highway, several teams of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) moved in and started removing the bricks and debris lying on the road with tractors and excavator machines, clearing the road for the commuters.
