Jaipur: Police used water cannons to disperse NSUI functionaries and Congress members who were attempting to march to the Chief Minister’s Residence (CMR) to protest the suspension of student union elections in Rajasthan’s colleges and universities, Tuesday.Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, along with NSUI members, was stopped at the Shaheed Smarak on MI Road as they tried to march towards the CMR in the Civil Lines. Police detained 68 protesters, including NSUI state president Vinod Jakhar and Congress MLAs Mukesh Bhakar and Abhimanyu Poonia.The controversy stems from the suspension of student union elections, which were last held in 2022. The previous Congress govt, led by Ashok Gehlot, had cancelled the 2023 elections citing the implementation of the National Education Policy and the introduction of the semester system in undergraduate courses.Speaking at the protest, Pilot criticised the current BJP govt for its silence on the issue. “want to ask the govt why student elections are not being held. If elections won’t be conducted, then a reason should be given, but the BJP govt has not done so,” Pilot said, emphasising that many prominent politicians from both Congress and BJP began their political careers through student politics.Pilot further alleged that the BJP’s “double engine” govt “thinks that it can do anything for five years” and accused it of playing religious politics during elections. He raised concerns about the state’s development and bureaucratic decision-making, noting that “development across the state is on hold.”Additional commissioner of police (law and order) Rameshwar Singh said that the protesters were detained for violating the permission for gathering at the Shaheed Smarak. “Water cannons were deployed when NSUI members attempted to proceed beyond the authorised area, temporarily disrupting traffic near Govt Hostel on MI Road. Permission was granted only for gathering, not for the march,” Singh said.NSUI state president Vinod Jakhar accused the BJP govt of failing to fulfil its electoral promise of reinstating student union elections. “Despite being in power for one-and-a-half-year, the BJP govt has shown no initiative towards conducting student body polls,” Jakhar said.
NSUI protests for union polls in Raj, treated with water cannons | Jaipur News
