Upper castes led by Rajput Karni Sena demand reservation

Yash Goyal

Jaipur, March 3

Demanding quota for upper castes, including Brahmin, Rajput and Vaishya, thousands of protesters led by Rajput Karni Sena on Friday indulged in stone-pelting and arson near the Vidhan Sabha when the House was in session.

After two-rounds of talks with the agitators, the Raje government sought more time to resolve the issue. 

Carrying lathis (sticks) and saffron colour flags, thousands of protesters stormed the state BJP headquarters where they damaged property, tore posters and smashed windows of at least half a dozen vehicles parked there, police said.

Some miscreants even entered the premises and resorted to lathi charge to create tension as party functionaries present inside hid themselves. 

Then they proceeded to march towards the Vidhan Sabha building and held a demonstration cum sit-in amidst tight security cover as they were stopped from crossing the iron barricades.

A delegation, led by Sukhdev Singh Gogamedhi and RS Guddha, former MLA, held two-round of talks with ministers Yunus Khan (Roadways) and Pushpendra Singh (Energry) to resolve the deadlock.

Last month, Sri Rajput Karni Sena patron LS Kalvi had demanded reservation for the upper castes and called for a review of the present reservation system as the state government had already done EBC survey. 

No arrest has been made in this connection despite traffic being disturbed on various routes.