Jaipur: It was a calculated move by the govt led by chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma to allow Congress sit-in at the Jaipur Police Commissionerate to continue, assessing that the protest over the demand for a zero FIR in the alleged assault on NSUI national secretary Ritu Barala would not gain wider traction. Sources said the opposition party’s inability to mobilise a large crowd reinforced the Sharma govt’s decision to avoid intervention.The govt also viewed the sit-in as a strategic way to keep Congress functionaries engaged in Jaipur at a time when the opposition needed to focus on organisational preparations for the panchayati polls currently underway.A source in the CM’s office said the calculation was that a prolonged protest would pull Congressmen away from meetings and election-related work, while allowing controversy over BJP state president Madan Rathore’s remarks on Pakistan to also fade.The govt closely tracked whether Congress could replicate in Jaipur the show of strength it attempted in Delhi. Despite repeated appeals by Congress state president Govind Singh Dotasra, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, MLAs Rafeek Khan and Amin Kagzi, and former minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, the turnout remained limited. A govt source said that at the peak of the protest on Oct 19-20, around 200-250 Congress workers gathered outside the commissionerate across MI Road and Govt Press area, while continued calls from senior party members failed to increase participation.A turning point came Tuesday afternoon during an interaction with ACP Ajay Singh, when Dotasra indicated that the party could withdraw its protest if police gives a written response explaining why an FIR would not be registered, a source said. The proposal was reviewed legally, and the written response was handed to Dotasra around Wednesday noon, after which the Congress state chief announced the withdrawal of the protest.Sources said the govt had considered detaining Congress members Tuesday night but dropped the plan amid concerns that it could escalate tensions and give the opposition an opening to intensify the agitation.eom
