This refers to the report, “Venkaiah discusses Jat quota issue with Khattar” (February 24). After a week-long agitation by the Jats, the Haryana Government has surrendered to their demands. The UPA Government, in March 2014, a day before the announcement of the lok Sabha poll, had issued a notification to include Jats in the Central list of OBC. However, the Supreme Court set aside the notification. The National Commission for Backward Classes too opposed a quota for the Jats.
The Haryana Government’s acceptance of the demands of the Jats will set a bad precedent for other communities to follow the same route, to extract quotas irrespective of whether they are eligible for it or not. It’s high time that political parties stop using quotas as a tool for vote-bank politics and arrive at a consensus to impose community fines on agitators to compensate for the loss of property.