Rohtak: The Haryana Cabinet on Monday approved the Jat reservation bill to provide reservation to Jats and four other castes in government jobs and educational institutions.
The BJP-led state government had said it would bring the bill to give reservation to Jats and four other castes- Jat Sikhs, Bishnois, Tyagis and Rors in the ongoing Budget Session which is scheduled to end on March 31.
The community has been demanding reservation in the existing backward classes (BC) category. The Backward Classes quota is bifurcated in two categories--BC-A and BC-B having 16 and 11 percent reservation respectively.
Some Jat leaders said they had lost hopes for the reservation after the incidents of violence during the agitation, but their repeated meetings with the Chief Minister, Cabinet ministers and senior officers revived their hopes for the bill.
In a meeting on March 19, the Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister O.P. Dhankar met khap leaders and assured them that they would bring the Jat reservation Bill during the Budget session.
A committee headed by Chief Secretary D. S. Dhesi to review the Jat reservation had earlier submitted its report to the state government.
In February, 30 people had lost their lives during the nine-day violent agitation by Jats demanding 10 per cent quota in government jobs and educational institutions.
Several districts including Rohtak, the epicentre of Jat agitation, Jhajjar, Kaithal, Jind, Sonipat and Bhiwani had witnessed violence.
