Day 2: CM forms team for talks, 6 Gurjjar MLAs quit BJP

Barring Nathusingh, all others met state BJP chief Mahesh Sharma this evening and handed resignation letters addressed to party president Rajnath Singh. Gurjjar community leaders had threatened to disown the MLAs if they did not back their agitation.

Atar Singh Bhadana, who admitted that Vasundhara Raje had promised to help the community get ST status, said: “The reservation issue is five years old and the government three years old. Time and again, we warned the government that if something is not done, it may lead to an explosive situation like this one. But the government turned a deaf ear.”

Data Ram said: “One can only hope that the government now reacts swiftly and does something to help the community. Firing on innocent people has angered them more and landed us in a situation where we do not know who to support, how to answer questions raised by our own community.”

Meanwhile, incidents of violence continued in the state. Two police stations were torched in Dausa district and the Jaipur-Agra highway remained blocked. The death toll rose to 15 after the body of a missing policeman was found.