Hisar, March 9
Even as DGP Ranjiv Dalal and Deputy Commissioner Amit Aggarwal appealed to the pro-reservation Jat protesters to cremate the body of the youth who had died in a clash with the police on Monday, the protesters today decided to intensify their agitation following government’s refusal to release all their arrested leaders.

Suresh Koth, a senior Jat leader, said there was no question of cremating the body before the release of all the persons arrested in connection with the ongoing agitation.

He said since the government had not released the arrested men by noon today, it had been decided to intensify the stir by blocking rail and road traffic “at all possible places” in the state.

Koth said the protesters would not hold any talks with the government on any issue till the arrested persons were released.

Over 5,000 protesters gathered at the railway track in Ramayan village today. They removed the stone metal from the tracks and spread the pebbles on the national highway to render it unusable.

The protesters have also removed fish plates from the railway track to rule out the possibility of resumption of rail services forcibly.

Feb 2: The Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti demands quota by February 19

Feb 20: Jat leaders extend deadline by 24 hours

Feb 21: Talks between Jats, govt fail, stir intensifies

Feb 27: Khaps jump into the fray, warn government

March 3: Government, Jats strike deal

March 4: Deal falls flat, stir intensifies

March 6: Youth killed, as cops, Jats clash

March 7: Agitators torch police post, Army called out

Fatehabad, March 9
An uneasy calm prevails at Parta village of Fatehabad after yesterday’s clashes between the police and Jat agitators.

The police has registered criminal cases against over 125 villagers and arrested 10 of them for rioting. While the authorities claim that at least six policemen have received injuries due to stone pelting by the protesters, the villagers alleged the police beat them by dragging them out of their houses.

Parta is located about 4 km of Gajuwala village that witnessed clash between the police and Jats on March 6.

Since then the paramilitary forces have been camping near this village. The incident occurred when the villagers blocked the Parta-Gajuwala road, the route used by the district authorities to reach the railway track.

The villagers allegedly threw stones at a police team, inviting retaliation. Deputy Commissioner ML Kaushik said the injured include DIG (Crime) Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, two DSPs — Shiv Charan and Sunil Dalal. An official note quoting SP Satinder Kumar Gupta said the police swung into action after Tohana Sadar SHO was injured in the attack. “The police entered the houses by smashing doors and beat up villagers mercilessly,” alleged Vjiay Singh, an agitator from Gajuwala.

The police, meanwhile, said villagers Rai Sahib, Sita Ram, Krishan, Subhash, Hawa Singh, Sanjay, Mohinder, Rajesh, Pala Ram and Kailash, all from Parta and Baijalpur villages, have been arrested under Sections 148, 149, 332, 353, 186 and 307 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

Chandigarh, March 9
The unrest over the Jat reservation in Haryana today spilled into the Haryana Assembly again as the House witnessed acrimonious scenes. While 17 MLAs of the Opposition were named for “disrupting” the proceedings, the House passed a unanimous resolution against INLD MLA Ajay Singh Chautala for “entering into a political conspiracy” to divide the social fabric of the state as the INLD staged a walkout.

Also, probably for the first time, the House went over a part of today’s recording of the proceedings to ascertain objectionable words used by Chautala for Speaker Kuldeep Sharma, for which he subsequently apologised.

As expected, the House virtually “exploded” over the on-going Jat agitation after the question hour as the treasury benches and the Opposition indulged in a slanging match while the Speaker looked on for nearly 15 minutes.

With nothing audible, the Speaker first named BJP’s Anil Vij and turned the heat on INLD legislators who came to his “rescue.” Marshals were called in to escort Vij out even as the BJP staged a walkout.

As Sharma threatened to name everybody who stopped the marshals from removing Vij, INLD’s Abhey Chautala was the first to go for “talking back” at the chair and 14 other INLD MLAs and one SAD MLA, too, were named for the ensuing ruckus.

For a change, the Congress “attack” on the Opposition, too, seemed coordinated as party MLAs rose to defend the government rather than leaving the job to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Sirsa, March 9
INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala today held the Hooda government responsible for the present imbroglio over the Jat reservation and said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was trapped in a self-woven web.

Demanding Hooda’s resignation on this issue, Chautala alleged that the Chief Minister had been misleading Jats on the quota issue from the very beginning for his own political ends and now the things had gone out of his government’s hands. 

Chandigarh, March 9
Decks have been cleared for setting up a national law university in the state with the passage of the National Law University Haryana Bill, 2012, along with 15 other Bills by the Assembly on the concluding day of Budget session today.

A minimum of 25 per cent seats in the university would be reserved for state students. One-fifth of the total seats reserved for Haryana domicile would be reserved for the wards of land owners whose land was acquired for Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonepat.

The Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2012, has been passed for improving quality. In view of the SC judgement in the Prof Yashpal versus State of Chhattisgarh case, the provisions such as study centres, off campus and off-shore campus have been omitted. The Bill also sought to set up Baba Mast Nath University in Rohtak, MVN University in Palwal and Ansal University in Gurgaon. The Maharshi Dayanand University (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya Khanpur Kalan (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Kurukshetra University (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and Chaudhary Devi Lal University Sirsa (Amendment) Bill, 2012, seek to re-designate university teachers as Assistant Professors and Associate Professors.

The Punjab Labour Welfare Fund (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2012, enhances subscription to the welfare fund from Rs 5 to Rs 10. The Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Haryana Amendment Bill, 2012, vests District Development and Panchayat Officers and Deputy Chief Executive Officers of Zila Parishads with powers of Assistant Collector to ensure timely disposal of eviction proceedings of shamlat land.

The Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2012, would regulate communication towers and commercial, institutional and industrial activities in the areas of Gram Panchayats. The Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies Bill, 2012, replaces the Societies Registration Act, 1860, for summary settlement of membership and election related disputes.

The other Bills passed by the House were the Haryana Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2012, the Haryana Murrah Buffalo and other Milch Animal Breed (Preservation and Development of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Development Sector) Amendment Bill, 2012, the Haryana Private Health Sciences Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission, Fixation of Fee and Maintenance of Educational Standards) Bill, 2012, and the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2012.

The Vidhan Sabha also passed the Haryana Appropriation Bills, 2012 (No. 1 and 2). 

Hisar, March 9
The chances of an early end to the Jat agitation in the district receded further this evening after the leaders of the protesters at Ramayan village, near here, spurned an offer by the khap panchayat to mediate with the government.

Four leaders of the panchayats, including Inder Singh Hooda and Partap Singh Dahiya, met the protesters at the railway track and informed them that they would try to secure release of the arrested persons to pave the way for cremation of the body of Sandeep, who had died in the clash with the police on Monday.

However, the protesters reportedly told them that all the decisions would be taken by the "samaj" and nobody else. A 15-member team of khap leaders later arrived in the city to meet the arrested leaders in the Central Jail here.