Rajasthan: Police Use Water Canons To Disperse Youth Cong Protesters Demanding Re-Employment Under Scrapped Scheme

The BJP government scrapped the Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra scheme, a flagship programme of the previous Congress regime, weeks after coming to power in Rajasthan.

Police use water canons as protesting Youth Congress workers march to gherao Rajasthan CM's residence

Source : PTI Images

Protesting Youth Congress workers marching to gherao the residence of Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma faced police intervention on Wednesday, with law enforcement resorting to water cannons and baton charges to disperse the crowd. The demonstrators were demanding the reinstatement of people previously employed under the Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra scheme, which was terminated by the BJP government shortly after assuming power in Rajasthan.

#WATCH | Jaipur: Police use water cannon against Indian Youth Congress workers protesting on the issue of unemployment. pic.twitter.com/Ev1tXFU0KQ

— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) February 21, 2024

The Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitra scheme, a flagship initiative of the previous Congress administration, engaged 'yuva mitras' to raise awareness about government services, providing them with stipends.

Commencing their march after a meeting at Shaheed Smarak, the Youth Congress workers aimed to gherao the Chief Minister's residence. However, their progress was halted near the Police Commissionerate, leading to police intervention when the protestors ignored warnings, news agency PTI reported. 

According to a PTI report, Youth Congress National President BV Srinivas, partaking in the protest, called for the re-employment of 5,000 Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Mitras. He accused the BJP of forming the government based on false promises and highlighted the unfulfilled commitment to deposit Rs 15 lakh into every citizen's bank account.

Addressing party members, Srinivas stressed the need for the government to engage in dialogue with protesting farmers and meet their demands.

State President of Youth Congress, Abhimanyu Poonia, expressed a loss of trust in the state government within just two-and-a-half months. He remarked on the government's failure to fulfill promises made to the youth and farmers, citing the absence of job arrangements for unemployed youth in the state, as reported by PTI.