Gujjars rule out 'compromise'

Bayana, Rajasthan: Toughening their stance on the fourth day of their agitation that led to 37 deaths so far, the Gujjars on Monday vowed to continue their protest indefinitely to press for Scheduled Tribe status for the community. Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla even challenged Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to launch face-to-face talks.

"She (Vasundhara Raje) has to come to Bayana," Bainsla said.

"Why did she not come to Pilupura where so many innocent Gujjars were gunned down by the police and the Rapid Action Force? She could have come to show her solidarity with the families of the deceased.

"She is a cheat and does not have the guts to show her face to Gujjars. If the government wants the issue to be resolved, then Vasundhara must come to Pilupura and talk to me face to face," said Bainsla who, along with thousands of supporters, has been spearheading a sit-in agitation on the railway track linking Delhi to Mumbai.

Raje had visited Bayana, half-an-hour from Pilupura village in Bharatpur district, on Sunday evening and urged Bainsla to come and meet her there but he insisted that talks would only be held in the village.

Bainsla asserted that the community would not settle for less than a recommendation letter from the state government to the central government that would help get it notified under the Scheduled Tribe category.

"Bring the entire force and kill each of us. But we will (continue to) protest peacefully and not leave until the state government accepts our demands. There will be no compromise," the retired army colonel said.

However, tension is brewing at what has virtually become the epicentre of the Gujjar agitation as hundreds of young Gujjar men seek to avenge the deaths here and in Sikandra in Dausa district.

For three days now, the protests have continued with at least 12 bodies of those killed in the protests kept in coffins on the railway lines in Pilupura, while, in Sikandra, protests on the Jaipur-Agra highway have been symbolised by six dead bodies.

"Our patience is on the brink of collapse. We are gradually forced towards choosing weapons. If they - army and police - again open fire on us, we will retaliate in the same way," said Ram Prasad, a young protester.

Nanak Ram, who lost his elder son in the police action, said: "We will not cremate the body until and unless we get a letter from the chief minister."

Captain Harprasad Tigaria, the second-in-command of the Gujjar leadership, asked: "Where is the National Human Rights Commission?"