Jat quota riot spreads in other districts, agitation has claimed 6 lives

Chandigarh/New Delhi: The Jat reservation agitation has claimed six lives as the stir in Haryana spread to other areas on Saturday, with five people being killed in firing by security forces in Rohtak, Jhajjar and Kaithal districts even as the Army staged flag marches in the affected pockets.

Appealing to protesters to end their stir, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar asked agitators to “return to their homes as the government has accepted their demands”, but did not elaborate. “Such incidents create disharmony,” he said here after reviewing the situation with his ministerial colleagues and senior civil and police officers.

The BJP also tried to reach out to the Jat community and invited their representatives to hold talks with party chief Amit Shah and Union ministers.

“In a way, there is an atmosphere of anarchy (in Haryana). I appeal to the people leading the agitation to hold talks with our leadership... Youths who are at the forefront should also join talks. I appeal, pray to the people of Haryana to maintain peace and harmony,” Union minister Birender Singh said in New Delhi.

He also said that the party leadership had assured them that it was in favour of reservation. Mr Singh is the BJP’s most notable Jat leader from Haryana.

Other Jat leaders — Union minister Sanjeev Balyan, a Jat from western UP, and Haryana Cabinet minister O.P. Dhankar — also aissued similar appelas to the community. Mr Singh blamed the Congress for the crisis.