Gujjar Row: PIL in SC against Rajasthan CM

A public interest litigation seeking registration of criminal cases against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and former Union Minister Jaswant Singh for allegedly instigating the recent Gujjar violence has been filed in the Supreme Court.

The PIL filed by Devendra Singh Patel, claiming to be the president of the Rashtriya Gujjar Chetna Manch, has alleged that large scale violence last month over the Gujjar's demand for inclusion in the Scheduled Tribe category was a fallout of the 'infighting' within the state Bharatiya Janata Party, involving factions led by the two leaders.

Patel alleged that Jaswant Singh has been spearheading a campaign to malign Vasundhara Raje and uproot her from the post of chief minister for his own personal political benefit.     

The petition alleged that a week before the violence started, Jaswant Singh's wife had filed an FIR against Vasundhara Raje for allegedly painting herself as a goddess.

It was submitted that Vasundhara too contributed to the situation by 'instigating' the Meena community against the Gujjars.

Patel alleged that KS Bainsala who negotiated a deal with the Rajasthan government was a BJP 'crony' and had no locus standi to represent the community or sign agreements on behalf of the Gujjars.