Will go against BJP if demands aren't met, says Jat body

HISAR: All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (Aijass) national president Yashpal Malik said on Saturday that Jats would campaign against the BJP if it did not meet the community's demands before the announcement of Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking at a press conference here, Malik went on to accuse leaders of the saffron party of being responsible for the violence which broke out across Haryana during the Jats' agitation for reservation in February 2016. Recounting what transpired before the violence, he said the BJP started preparations for the Jat stir in April 2015 through Haryana minister Om Prakash Dhankar's uncle Azad Panwar, khap leader, and finance minister Captain Abhimanyu, state president Subhash Barala and other leaders who were related to various khaps. "At the same time, it formed an OBC pressure group through MP Rajkumar Saini. He would condemn Jats and resorted to hate speeches. BJP MP Ashwini Chopara and minister Manish Grover too were a part of it," he said.

He said Azad Panwar started protests at Sampla village in Rohtak on February 14, 2016. To incite the community, he said, the party's OBC pressure group attacked Jat dharmashalas, institutions, and statues of the community's leaders. "Violence started in Rohtak by people who started from the house of minister of state Grover," he said.

Malik claimed that the BJP signed four agreements with Jat representatives and promised compensation for the families of those killed during the agitation, withdrawal of cases registered during the agitation, and reservation for the community. "However, neither criminal cases were withdrawn by the government and nor was reservation given to Jats. Due to this, anger is brewing in the community," Malik said.