Pulwama widows row: BJP leaders detained following protest in Jaipur

"Our leaders & wives of Pulwama martyrs were insulted, we’re staging a protest against this," Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia said

By: Express Web Desk

Jaipur | March 11, 2023 03:20 PM IST

3 min read

Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia told reporters that there will be a ‘Jana Aakrosh’ campaign in the state soon. (Photo: ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan/ Twitter)

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A day after Rajasthan Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena allegedly sustained injuries in a clash with police when he was on his way to meet a widow of a soldier killed in the Pulwama terror attack, several Rajasthan BJP leaders, including state party chief Satish Poonia and Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, were detained in Jaipur for organising a protest over the matter.

The widows have been protesting for over a week demanding a change in rules so that their relatives, and not just their children, can get government jobs on compassionate grounds. Their other demands include construction of roads and installation of statues of the martyrs in their villages.

“Our leaders and wives of Pulwama martyrs were insulted, we’re staging a protest against this. There will be a ‘Jana Aakrosh’ campaign in Rajasthan in upcoming days where we will raise issues like weaving off farmers’ loans, corruption,” news agency ANI quoted Poonia as saying.

“We have initiated the protest today and we will continue it. The kind of behaviour the state government is showcasing is an insult to democracy, we will take the protest against the government further in all corners of the state,” Rathore was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier on Friday (March 10), the Rajasthan police had picked up the three protesting widows from outside Sachin Pilot’s residence in Jaipur and shifted them back to their towns, while some of the supporters were lodged in the SEZ police station in Bagru on Jaipur outskirts.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had responded to the demands, asking on Twitter whether it would be “appropriate” to give jobs to other relatives of the martyred jawans instead of their children. “What will happen to the children of the martyr when they grow up? Is it appropriate to trample upon their rights?” he had asked.

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