Raj Gujjar body demands separate 5% quota under OBC: Report
The Rajasthan Gujjar Aarakashan Sangharsh Samiti has demanded separate reservation of 5% within Other Backward Class quota, reports said. In 2015, the Rajasthan government had provided 5% reservation for  Gujjars, Banjaras, Gadia Lohars, Gadarias and Raikas under Special Backward Classes, taking the total reservation in Rajasthan to 54%. However, the Rajasthan High Court struck down the move.
The Gujjars demand for reservation in Rajasthan can fast become an albatross around Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's neck. After the Rajasthan High Court struck down the move to bring five castes, including Gujjars, under the Special Backward Castes (SBC) category, the Rajasthan Gujjar Aarakashan Sangharsh Samiti has begun to demand that a separate reservation of 5 per cent be created for the nomadic castes within the Other Backward Classes (OBC), thus abiding with the total cap of 50 per cent on reservation. This, the agitating Gujjars feel, can help avoid the court's scrutiny.The Rajasthan government had, through a Bill in September, 2015, provided 5 per cent reservation for 5 castes under the Special Backward Classes (SBC), thus taking the total reservation in Rajasthan to 54 per cent. These castes include Gujjars, Banjaras, Gadia Lohars, Gadarias and Raikas.RAJASTHAN GOVERNMENT IN DILEMMA OVER DEMANDThe Rajasthan government is presently in a dilemma about whether it must accept the demand. If it yields, it runs the risk of antagonising other castes whose share in the reservation quota will then drop. Such castes include the Jats and Bishnois, among many others.Currently, according to the Supreme Court, the cap on reservation under different categories in government jobs is 50 per cent. Before the government decided to bring in a Bill for 5 per cent reservation in September last year, caste-based reservation in government jobs in Rajasthan stood at 49 per cent. That included 21 per cent for OBCs, 16 per cent for Scheduled Castes and 12 per cent for Scheduled Tribes.Also read | Raj Govt tries to assure Gujjars on quota after stir threatThe High Court had mentioned that five castes (Gujjars, Banjaras, Gadarias, Raikas and Gadia Lohars), previously falling in the category of OBCs and getting benefits of reservation, have been brought under SBCs to provide five per cent reservation, exceeding the ceiling of 50 per cent. The court observed that the SBC Commission and the state government had failed to discharge their obligation, as per the directions of the apex court, to collect quantifiable data. The court, citing the Supreme Court's 9-judge bench Indira Sahani judgement, stated that there were no special reasons for creating a separate 5 per cent reservation pool for these castes. The court mentioned that according to a report, there were 25 more backward castes.GUJJARS FEEL GOVERNMENT HAS NOT KEPT PROMISEThe representative Gujjars, who have witnessed several violent agitations in the past, feel that the government has so far not fulfilled its promise of ensuring Amendment to the 9th Schedule to bring in the requisite changes. In May 2015, members of the Gujjar community began agitating in Bharatpur by once again blocking railway tracks. After that, representatives of the Sangharsh Samiti were called in for a dialogue. As per Himmat Singh Gujjar, spokesperson for Rajasthan Gujjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (RGASS), the government during the dialogue that happened following the May agitation had promised that changes would be made in the 9th Schedule of the Constitution at the Central level, thus fulfilling the government's promise on the issue of reservation. Also read | Rajasthan: Gujjars launch fresh stir demanding quota in government jobsHe claimed, "Now our demand is for 5 per cent reservation to be set aside for the 5 castes within the OBC category."