Unemployed youth from Rajasthan protest outside Congress office in Lucknow, demand meeting with Priyanka Gandhi

The demands of the protesters include appointments in several government jobs for which recruitment exams have already been conducted, increase in the number of vacancies for state government jobs and formulation of a non-bailable law against those who leak question papers in competitive examinations.

“We are at present sitting on dharna outside the Pradesh Congress Committee in Lucknow and have now started a hunger strike. For the past 47 days, we have been protesting in Jaipur. We want to meet Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The Congress has announced that they will give 20 lakh jobs in Uttar Pradesh. Before the 2018 Assembly elections we had lent support to the Congress. But promises made to us haven’t been fulfilled,” said Upen Yadav, president of RBEM on Monday.

Earlier, the RBEM had said that it will oppose the Congress in the Uttar Pradesh elections at rallies of its leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“The Congress has a government in Rajasthan. Despite this, they are not fulfilling the promises made to the unemployed youth and instead making tall promises to the people of Uttar Pradesh. First the party should fulfil their promises made in Rajasthan,” said Yadav.

MLA Danish Abrar, the newly-appointed advisor to CM Gehlot, reached out to the protesters on November 23 and held talks. However, after no consensus could be reached, the protesters left for Uttar Pradesh on November 26 and after reaching Lucknow, they also accused UP Congress workers of misbehaving with them.

The opposition BJP has been prompt to corner the Rajasthan government over the protests by unemployed youth, with former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, state BJP president Satish Poonia, deputy leader of opposition Rajendra Rathore, all slamming the Gehlot regime.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Chief Minister Gehlot said that the opposition is ‘inciting’ the protests.

“What is the logic behind staging a dharna at Lucknow? Our friends are staging dharna at Lucknow? Isn’t this politics? The opposition is inciting them. What is the logic? You are sending them to Lucknow…the government there is of the BJP,” said Gehlot.

Gehlot added that the BJP is demoralised after losses in state elections and are now inciting such protests. “The highest employment in the country is being given in Rajasthan. Around 1 lakh people have already got jobs, recruitment process for 77,000 more people is ongoing. Is this happening anywhere in the country? Some people want to contest elections in future. Even if they get jobs, they would not do so just want to be in the limelight so that tomorrow the BJP or Congress give them tickets,” said CM Gehlot.

“When a government is taking care of the unemployed, like family members, what will they do by going to Lucknow?,” he added.