Click to play videoJaipur: Rajasthan is on the edge as 16 more people were killed in police firing on Saturday in Sikandra in Dausa district of Rajasthan on Saturday taking the total death toll in the latest violence between Gujjars demanding Schedule Tribe (ST) status and the police to 31.
Rail and road traffic have been severely hit in the state and as reports of sporadic violence from across the state come in, the tension is mounting.
Saturday was the second day of protests by Gujjars as the community renewed its protests to support its demand for ST status.
Many areas in the state saw pitched battles between Gujjars and police for the second day running. The bodies of those who have died in police firing still await cremation.
"We're all ready to face their bullets but we'll not budge from here until the government sends a letter to the Centre recommending ST status for the Gujjars," retired Colonel KS Bainsla, who is leading the agitation, said in Bharatpur.
The tough terrain in the Gujjar villages makes it tough to police them and the agitation is spreading fast to other parts of the state.
The state government has clarified that the decision for granting ST status rests with Centre.
"Move away those who are trying to destabilise the state. We just cannot afford this. We'll take strict action against those who're doing this," a tough-talking Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Rajasthan Chief Minister, said in Jaipur.
Caught napping second time over, Raje government has reasons to be unsure of whether it can afford this.
There have been 19 incidents of police firing in Raje's four and half years of rule killing over 50 people and the government might just have to pay a heavy price for this one in an election year.
Late on Saturday night, the Raje government invited Bainsla for talks on Sunday.
But the agitations has given ammunition to the opposition Congress, which is set to milk the opportunity and is planning demonstrations across affected districts.
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