Three communities, including the Brahmins, Rajputs and Baniyas will be holding a Kesariya Mahapanchayat in Rajasthan’s Jaipur to demand a hike in EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation from 10 to 14% and a caste census, people in the know of the matter said on Tuesday.
The Kesariya Mahapanchayat will be held on April 2, said one of the people quoted above. Several social organisations of Rajputs, Brahmins and Baniyas like the Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, Brahmshakti Sangh and Mahila Suraksha Manch will be jointly organising the event, said the people.
According to the information, several leaders from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been invited for the event, including ministers Mahesh Joshi, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Dharmendra Rathore, Rajendra Gudha.
Other ministers and MLAs from the three communities have also been invited, said the people.
Confirming the event, Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi said, “Our original demand was for 14% but the government gave us 10%. We now want 14% reservation.”
Former chief minister and BJP’s national vice president Vasundhara Raje has not been invited to the mahapanchayat, said Gogamedi.
The main demand of the community is to increase the EWS reservation from 10 to 14%.
He said the criteria of not giving EWS reservation to those who own land or a house should be removed. Gogoamedi said the community has 11 main demands. He said the mahapanchayat aims to “bring the upper castes on one platform.”
Gogamedi said that the political parties have been ignoring the Brahmins, Rajput and Baniyas. “The parties are giving fewer tickets to these communities. We want that a caste census be done so that the factual position can be known and everyone should get quota as per their strength.”
Another major demand which will be discussed during the event is formation of a law to protect Hindu religious saints. “There have been several incidents of murders of saints in Rajasthan. We want that the government bring a law on the lines of the advocate protection law,” he said.
He said the Rajput community also wants a Kshatriya Kalyan Board to be set-up and named after Maharana Pratap.
Among the other demands are that the government should give reservation to EWS in panchayati raj elections and other local elections.
The rules for EWS reservation should be relaxed and age relaxation, relaxation in marks for admissions should be considered. The government should bring in one policy for EWS quota in the entire country.
The demands also include that unemployed youth be given skills training and business loans at zero interest to promote employment opportunities. Small farmers should be given a special economic package to help them financially.
Gogamedi said cases against leaders of the EWS community in the gangster Anandpal encounter should be taken back. After Anandpal was killed by police in an encounter in 2017, the Rajput community leaders had taken out a large protest rally leading to violence, after which cases were slapped on them.
Reiterating the demand, Swami Saurabh Raghavendracharya the priest at the Raghunath temple said the Brahmin community also wants EWS quota to be hiked.
“We want the government to bring a bill to protect saints who are being attacked frequently in Rajasthan. We also want a Sanatan Board to be set up for the welfare of the Brahmins,” he said.
Political analyst Manish Godha said in view of the elections in Rajasthan, various social groups are trying to put pressure on the government. “This is one more attempt at pressure politics. The communities are trying to get their demands and political objectives met through such gatherings,” he said.
Reacting to the developments, Sunil Mudgal of Brahmshakti Sangh said: “Today News 24s are divided into castes and communities and there are efforts to keep us divided. We want to bring all on one platform.”
Mudgal said the Brahmins, Rajputs and Banyias were being ignored and not given adequate political representation. “The three communities will have a lot of clout if we fight unitedly for our rights,” he said.
