The Gujjar leadership on Sunday rejected the proposals of the Rajasthan government to end the 24-day-old stir but agreed to continue the dialogue process in Jaipur aimed at finding a way out.
Coverage: Rajasthan's caste conflict
The proposals, set out in a letter by the state government, were turned down by community patriarch Kirori Singh Bainsla, senior Gujjar leader Capt (retd.) Jagran Singh said on telephone from Karwadi in Jaipur.
"There is nothing in the letter that can be accepted by us. Our main demand remains Scheduled Tribes status for the community," Jagran Singh, considered to be close to 70-year-old Bainsla, said.
Sneak Peak into Gujjar Territory
The letter was brought to Bainsla by a Gujjar team, which was flown from Jaipur by a state government helicopter. The team, which includes Delhi Nationalist Congress Party legislator Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Haryana legislator Sukhbir Singh Jaunpuria, returned to the state capital on Saturday evening carrying the views of the community leadership.
"Further talks will be held in Jaipur with the government," Bainsla told media persons after he was briefed on the outcome of the two days of Gujjar-government discussions, which concluded on Saturday.
'Sikandra and Bayana are our Jallianwala Bagh'
"My presence in the talks will depend on the government's response to the fresh suggestions given by us. I will not be going to Jaipur for now," Bainsla, who is camping in this Gujjar agitation nerve centre, said.
Both Bainsla and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje have so far stayed away from the talks. Details of the proposals made by the state government and the response to them by the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti have not been made public as yet.
