Jaipur/Bayana, June 7
A sliver of hope for a quick end to the fortnight-long stalemate between the agitating Gujjars and the Rajasthan government was dashed today with the two sides deadlocked over the choice of venue for the crucial talks.

The stand-off continued after the Vasundhra Raje government rejected the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti’s proposal that Bayana be made the venue for parleys over its demand to grant the Scheduled Tribe status to Gujjars. But, the samiti insisted that Bayana be the venue for the talks. The violent agitation by the Gujjars since May 23 had claimed 43 lives in police firing.

The government conveyed its decision that the talks would be held only in Jaipur in a letter to samiti patron Kirori Singh Bainsla at Pilupura village in Bharatpur district through the government’s chief negotiator S.N. Thanvi.

The government asked when it would be convenient for Gujjar representatives or a delegation to come to the state capital to discuss the issue of according the ST/denotified tribe status to the community and sought a reply from Bainsla at the earliest, officials said in Jaipur.

The officials said the state government was prepared to begin talks “without any delay”. Bainsla had earlier sent a brief letter to a government representative offering to hold talks.

But shortly after the government sent a letter that the talks would be held in Jaipur, Bainsla stuck to the stand that only the Bayana block in Bharatpur district would be the venue.

“We will only talk in Bayana. We will not go to Jaipur,” Bainsla told reporters after a community mahapanchayat convened to discuss government’s rejection of the community’s proposal for talks in Bayana.

Congress MPs Sachin Pilot and Awatar Singh Bhadana, meanwhile, arrived at Sikandra town in Dausa district where bodies of 20 protesters have been kept since early this week for cremation. They met the bereaved family members amid tight security. The agitating Gujjars have been demanding Pilot and Bhadana should visit Sikandra town. Pilot stressed that talks was the only way to find a solution to the demands of the Gujjars.

Both MPs sought a prior written permission of the Dausa collector and SP, an aide of Pilot told PTI.

He said the two MPs were asked to reach Dausa/Sikandra via Jaipur, not via Bandikui, by the district administration.

Yesterday, the Gujjars decided to hold talks with the Rajasthan government at Bayana, raising hopes of an early end to their agitation. The decision to hold talks was taken at a meeting of top Gujjar leaders, including some leading intellectuals.

“Everything will happen according to expectations,” said Bainsla. “We have only one demand: that the state government should send a recommendation granting the ST status to the Gujjars,” he said, vowing to continue the agitation till the demand was met. — PTI