Jats to end rail blockade, but continue agitation (Lead)
March 19th, 2011 - 5:00 pm ICT by IANS
Amroha (Uttar Pradesh), March 19 (IANS) Jat community leaders Saturday said they have decided to end their two-week long rail blockade here, but added that their agitation to press for quotas in government jobs will continue.
“We respect the Allahabad High Court directions and, therefore, have decided to end the protests that were being carried out on the railway tracks near the Kafupur railway station,” Jat leader Satpal Chaudhary told reporters in Amroha, some 300 km from Lucknow.
However, the agitators, while clearing the rails and not blockading trains, would continue to squat along the tracks, Jat leaders said.
Demanding their inclusion in the list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in government job quota, the Jat protesters have been blockading key rail routes in western Uttar Pradesh since March 5.
The Allahabad High Court Friday issued stern directives to the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure restoration of rail services that were being disrupted due to the agitation.
“We want to clarify that as of now, we have only decided to clear the railway tracks, but our agitation would continue. We would continue to stage sit-ins, but will not block the tracks,” Chaudhary added.
Though the decision to free the tracks came after senior government officials and a state minister met a group of Jat leaders, president of All India Jat Sangharsh Samiti Yashpal Malik said: “We have taken the decision solely considering the high court directions and it has nothing to do with our discussions with the state government.
“Our agitation is against the central government as it can only look into our demands pertaining to reservation,” he said.
“We have to hold talks with the home minister in this regard today (Saturday). After the meeting, we would formulate our future strategy,” he added.
Yashpal Malik left for Delhi along with other Jat leaders Saturday for talks with Home Minister P. Chidambaram over their job quota demand.
Their agitation has severely affected train traffic on the Delhi-Lucknow route, where most trains are forced to take long detours, leading to hours-long delays.
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- Protesting Jats threaten to block Delhi-Ambala rail route - Mar 21, 2011
- Jats demand reservations, block Lucknow-Delhi route - Mar 06, 2011
- Protesting Jats clear railway tracks after Allahabad HC order - Mar 20, 2011
- Jats remain defiant, trains affected in parts of Haryana - Feb 21, 2012
- Jat protesters welcome BSP's support for reservation - Mar 11, 2011
- Ignoring court orders Jats block rail tracks (Lead) - Mar 25, 2011
- Court asks Uttar Pradesh to clear rail blockade by Jats - Mar 18, 2011
- Jats finally call off agitation, remove blockade - Mar 12, 2012
- Jats continue blockages despite court orders - Mar 25, 2011
- Trains back on track as Jats end blockade - Mar 20, 2011
- Jat team to meet Chidambaram, Wasnik; no lifting of rail blockade - Mar 15, 2011
Tags: agitation, agitators, allahabad high court, blockade, central government, community leaders, future strategy, government job, government jobs, home minister, lucknow, malik, p chidambaram, railway station, sangharsh, satpal, state minister, uttar pradesh government, western uttar pradesh, yashpal