Gujjars from North East to join the protests soon

Vasundra Raje & Karori Singh BainsalShillong, May 31 : Soon, the agitating Gujjars will be joined by their North-Eastern counterparts, which will provide an impetus to their demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

"Rajasthan Government has betrayed the Gujjars. In spite of the protests, both the Rajasthan Government and the Centre have been indifferent so far," Bhai Gujjar, representative of the Gujjars, said on Saturday.

Representatives of the Gujjar community from this region met in Guwahati on Friday for finding ways to join the protests.

While the Gujjars of the North East will form an apex organization of the community in a day or two, the community has also requested the Assam and Meghalaya Government to allow them to stage peaceful demonstrations, he added.

Meanwhile the Rajasthan Government has agreed to Gujjar leader Colonel (retired) Kirodi Singh Bainsla's demand for conducting a post-mortem of the dead agitators by a special team of doctors from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

At least 42 people have lost their lives in clashes between the Gujjars and the Rajasthan Police till Friday.

The situation in the 15 Gujjar agitation affected districts of Rajasthan continues to be tense. The State Government has already invoked the National Security Act (NSA) in the affected districts.

Demonstrations are being reported from Pilupura on the Delhi-Mumbai railway track and at Sikandra on the Jaipur Agra highway.

Two columns of the army along with the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) have been deployed in Sawai Madhopur District to prevent untoward incidents. (ANI)