Jats may not get quota but they have tasted blood

The Jat quota stir is over, or it almost is.

Why wouldn't it be? After all, all the demands of the protesters have been met, so there was no reason for them to continue with the arson and the rioting, isn't it?

The message is clear. Want a quota - come out on the streets, burn, loot, create mayhem and hold everyone to ransom and all will be well and all demands will be met.

But, will they?

The Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana initially messed up the handling of the agitation so badly that they were left with no other choice than to succumb to pressures. After all, even the national capital was threatening to come to a standstill, wasn't it? So there was no other choice.

But, as they say, there's many a slip between the cup and the lip. The Jats have tasted blood. They know they held the government by the scruff of the neck until Khattar whimpered and squealed and agreed to agree! This, they know, will work every time and each time from here on.

I have a strong feeling - and I am sure many others share the view - that the chief minister and his political masters in the RSS and in Delhi will have a rethink pretty soon. In fact, they must already be plotting how to wriggle out of this situation.

The bill will be brought up in the next session of the state Assembly, they said. And, no sooner than it is passed, hey presto, there's the quota for the Jats.

It's not that simple. There will be several hindrances; many committees will be set up to study this and study that; there will be endless discussions on the draft bill; many will see the proposals as a "betrayal"; others will see it as a sell-out by the leadership while still others will see the proposals as a damp squib and claim they will have no real impact!

The end result will be, several months later, either no bill or a watered down bill or even something that will have nothing for no one! And, we will be back to square one.

The Khattar government has been caught, literally, with its pants down. They had no choice but to agree and agree they did.

The fear, and everyone knows that, is this has opened the proverbial Pandora's box. Tomorrow (and Mr Owaisi has already said it) the Muslims will want a quota; the Christians, the Sikhs and what have you will wish to figure in the list. The Patels in Gujarat are already at it and so are other sundry groups around the country!

This will never stop. And, now that the Jats have had a victory of sorts, it will encourage others to resort to similar tactics - burn public property, stop surface transport and there you have it.

After all, what's a few thousand crore to get some quota!