Jaipur, Jun 8 (PTI) Some members of the Gurjar community held a protest on rail tracks and stalled a passenger train in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district on Sunday after taking part in a Mahapanchayat to press their various demands including on reservation, officials said.

The meeting at the Karwari Shaheed Memorial in the Pilupura area of Bayana was convened by the Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti and a draft of the state government’s response to their demands was read by Samiti president Vijay Bainsla.

However, after the Mahapanchayat concluded, a section of community members expressed discontent with the government’s response.

The protesters gathered on the railway tracks and stopped the 54794 Mathura-Sawaimadhopur passenger train at Fatehsinghpura near Bayana town, West Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) said.

“The train is halted for one and a half hours. Railway Protection Force (RPF), local police and railway and administrative authorities are holding talks with the protesters,” the CPRO said this evening.

Asked about the protest, Vijay Bainsla, son of the late Kirodi Singh Bainsla who had led several Gurjar agitations on the quota issue, said that the entire community and leaders are happy with the government’s response on their main demands.

He said some people might have come on track. “I don’t want to comment much on it,” he said, downplaying the protest.

“To get the 5 per cent reservation to Most Backward Classes (MBC) included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, a proposal would be recommended by the state cabinet and it would urge the Centre (to ensure its passage). The entire community wanted this. It is a legislative issue. We all are happy,” Bainsla told PTI, adding it was their key demand.

The Ninth Schedule contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in court.

Bainsla said another demand was that a nodal officer should be appointed in every district to dispose of the police cases against community members during the Gurjar agitation. “The government has agreed to it,” he claimed.

Earlier in the day, the Samiti had issued an ultimatum to the BJP government to respond by Sunday afternoon to its demands.

Rajasthan’s Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham had appealed to the Gurjar leadership to avoid agitation.

“In a democracy, everyone has the right to express their views. But when the government is willing to hold talks without any Mahapanchayat or protest, what is the need for one?” he said He also appealed personally to Vijay Bainsla, noting that he maintains close ties with party leaders.

“He contested the Deoli-Uniyara seat and attends party meetings. I urge him to resolve the issues through dialogue,” the minister said.

Due to the Mahapanchayat, traffic movement between Bayana (Bharatpur) and Hindaun City (Karauli) was diverted.

Vehicles were rerouted via Karauli and Mahwa (Dausa) through Kalsada, avoiding the Pilupura area. Similarly, traffic from Karauli to Bharatpur was redirected via Hindaun-Kalsada-Bhusawar instead of the Bayana-Hindaun state highway.

Additional police force was deployed in the area to maintain law and order.

Kirori Singh Bainsla led several agitations by the community on the reservation issue since 2006, stalling rail traffic for days on certain routes. PTI AG RT