Date:04/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/04/stories/2007060405581200.htm

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National

Work in tandem to resolve crisis, Gujjars tell BJP, Congress

Special Correspondent

Community from "Jammu to Jamnagar" agitated: Sachin Pilot

Gujjar leadership apparently decided to close ranks

Centre providing all assistance to Rajasthan Government

— Photo: S. Subramanium

SEEKING CONSENSUS: Congress MP from Dausa Sachin Pilot leading a delegation of Gujjars to meet BJP president Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: Cutting across party lines, the political leadership from within the Gujjar community on Sunday urged both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party to work in tandem for an early resolution of the Gujjar agitation in Rajasthan.

And, according to leaders present at the separate meetings, both the Congress and BJP central leaderships were conscious of the gravity of the situation and did not indulge in any blame-game.

Initiated by Sachin Pilot — Congress MP from Dausa, where the trouble first broke out — the Gujjar political leadership apparently decided to close ranks to drive home the message that the community was united. The delegation included Gujjar MPs and MLAs from the Congress, the BJP, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the NCP.

From the BJP, the meeting at the party headquarters was attended by president Rajnath Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajeev Pratap Rudy. The Gujjar leadership urged Mr. Singh to impress upon the Vasundhara Raje Government to not only address the long-pending grievances of the community vis-à-vis reservation but also deal with an iron hand the selective targeting of Gujjars.

Briefing mediapersons later, Mr. Prasad said the talks revolved around how to restore normality in Rajasthan and adjoining areas. ``There was no political nitpicking'' and Mr. Singh assured the Gujjar delegation that all efforts were being made to address the situation at the earliest. Another party leader Prakash Javdekar told The Hindu from Jaipur that every effort was being made to resolve the situation in the next 12 hours.

At the Congress headquarters, the Gujjar delegation was met by party president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel besides senior leaders Motilal Vora, Janardan Dwivedi and B. K. Hariprasad. There was an acknowledgement of the need to tread cautiously but quickly, as inter-caste differences were coming to the fore.

Speaking to The Hindu after the two meetings, Mr. Pilot said he was thankful to both parties for giving the community's political leadership a patient ear.

At both meetings, the Gujjar leadership pointed out that the issue no longer pertained to Rajasthan alone as the community from ``Jammu to Jamnagar'' was getting agitated.