Modi, Shah cheated us on quota: Jat leaders

Jat leaders from across nine states have announced that they will not support the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections accusing it of 'betrayal' of the promise to grant reservation under the OBC category.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah had assured us on the issue of reservation but have cheated us. We were given assurances before the Uttar Pradesh elections, but nothing happened to our demand,” Dharam Veer Chaudhary, chief coordinator of the All India Jat Aarakshan Bachao Maha Andolan, told DH.

Chaudhary said the community will no longer plead for reservation before the BJP leadership but would now be on the warpath. “We have no hesitation in supporting BSP chief Mayawati, who was the only leader who openly supported our demand for reservation and criticised government action during the 2016 Jat agitation in Haryana,” he said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of Jat leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh under the banner of the All India Jat Arakshan Bachao Maha Andolan.

Chaudhary said Jat leaders will also not allow 131 Lok Sabha members, who get elected on support from the community, to enter their constituencies.

In early 2016, Jat groups held violent protests in Haryana demanding reservations under the OBC category.

Chaudhary said the prime minister and Amit Shah had met the leaders from the Jat community on March 26, 2015, days after the Supreme Court had struck down the reservation granted to them by nine states under the OBC category.

Shah had also promised us reservation ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections in 2017, but nothing happened.

Earlier this month, the Modi government introduced a bill granting 10% reservation to the general category poor, over and above the 50% reservations for socially-backward and marginalised groups.