Rajasthan: BJP's Rajyavardhan Rathore blames Congress govt for Dungarpur violence

The BJP on Sunday blamed the Congress government in Rajasthan for the tense situation in the violence-hit Dungarpur and accused it of not making efforts to address the issues of the protesting youth.

"The situation is worsening in four Rajasthan districts including Dungarpur. No one went to meet the agitating youths. This is a big failure of the state government. We demand the Rajasthan government immediately reach out to the unemployed protesters and find a solution," BJP Lok Sabha MP Rajyavardhan Rathore said.

The leader said the Congress had made promises like unemployment allowance and jobs during the 2018 assembly polls but did not bring any new vacancies except those created by the previous BJP government. He asked the state government to reach out to unemployed protesters to defuse the crisis and said those who have infiltrated their protests and creating violence should be unmasked.

READ | Protesters Torch Vehicle, Vandalise Property In Rajasthan's Dungarpur

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Violent protests in Dungarpur eases

Meanwhile, the situation improved in Dungarpur district after the Udaipur-Ahmedabad highway, which was blocked by candidates of a recruitment exam for three days, was cleared after a meeting between a delegation of the protesters and public representatives and officials.

Tribal Area Development Minister Arjun Singh Bamniya was also part of the meeting. The protesters were demanding that 1,167 vacant general quota seats be filled from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

"The situation by and large remained peaceful today. The highway in Dungarpur is clear for traffic movement now," Inspector General of Police (Udaipur range), Binita Thakur said.

However, incidents of stone-pelting took place in the Rishabhdev and Jhadol area of adjoining Udaipur district, Thakur said. "Police forces are trying to control the situation there also," she said.

On Saturday, a man was shot dead during the protest and two others were injured, while a group of protestors torched a pickup van. The police control room said that stones and other obstacles on the highway in Dungarpur are being removed so that the traffic movement can be resumed. Several torched vehicles, stones and boulders are there on a 20-km stretch of the highway.

Violence erupted in the region on Thursday when the candidates of teachers' recruitment examination-2018 blocked the highway, pelted stones at police, damaged several properties and torched vehicles demanding filling of 1,167 vacant posts of general quota with ST candidates. On Sunday, a meeting was held in Kherwara Panchayat which was attended by public representatives, including sitting and former MPs and MLAs of various parties, senior police and district administration officials, community leaders and members of the delegation of the agitators.

READ | Situation Improves In Rajasthan's Dungarpur; Protesters Clear Udaipur-Ahmedabad Highway

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