Rajasthan: Police use water cannons, detain Youth Congress protesters; released later

Jaipur, Nov 20 (PTI) Tension flared briefly as police stopped on Thursday a protest march of the Youth Congress workers heading towards the chief minister’s residence and used water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Youth Congress national president Udaybhanu Chhib and state chief Abhimanyu Poonia, along with several others, were detained and later released, police said.

The protest was organised by the Youth Congress over allegations of vote rigging, poor law and order conditions in the state, and inadequate compensation for the crop damage.

Police placed barricades at the Shaheed Smarak in the city to halt the march. A face-off ensued when some of the protesters climbed over the barricades.

Police said water cannons were used subsequently to disperse the crowd.

Chhib and Poonia led the march, raising slogans against the state government’s policies.

Poonia claimed that common people were suffering under the government and criticised the administration for its inaction following the raids by Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, which led to the discovery of irregularities at multiple units, including a dairy.

He also questioned the handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, referring to the BLO’s death in West Bengal -- allegedly a suicide due to work pressure.

"Is it even possible to complete the SIR for the entire state in 20-25 days?" he questioned.

Police said the situation was brought under control after the detentions. PTI AG PRK PRK