Tribal status unlikely, Gurjars set for face-off

New Delhi: The Rajasthan government on Wednesday put the onus on the Central Government to take a call on whether Gurjars should be granted the status of Scheduled Tribe.

However, that seems unlikely as the Law Ministry has told Prime Minister's Office, saying such a move will be extra constitutional and that changing the Constitution to accommodate the requirement of a community was not a possibility.

The PMO has also written to the Tribal Ministry asking for its view on the Gurjars’ demand.

Meanwhile, the Indian capital and its surrounding regions may see "trouble" on Thursday because of road blockades the Gurjar community has threatened in support of their community in Rajasthan, Delhi Police said Wednesday.

Official sources said that around 30,000 police and paramilitary personnel would be deployed across the National Capital Region.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) S N Srivastava warned, “We have information that the protestors will try to block transportation of essential commodities into the city. The Gurjar community has a sizeable population in south and east Delhi. We anticipate more trouble in these areas. There might be trouble along the inter-state roads as well for which we will work in association with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana police.”

On Wednesday, Gurjars demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the community blocked some of the main roads leading into New Delhi for a good two hours by burning tyres and causing major traffic snarls.

The police have asked the public to avoid Thursday roads such as National Highway 8, Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, Mathura road, GT Karnal road and the Noida Link road.

The central home ministry has advised Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi to take effective measures to prevent violence.

While the Gurjars have been classified as other backward classes (OBCs), they want ST status and a share of the quota pie.

The community had held similar protests all over Rajasthan from May 29 to June 4 last year, leading to violence and 26 deaths. Then too protestors paralysed key roads leading to the national capital.