In his first comments on the ultimatum given by his former deputy Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that demanding compensation for students who have suffered from paper leaks is a sign of “mental bankruptcy.” Earlier this month, Pilot had warned that if his three demands, including compensation for students, are not met by month end, he would launch a state-wide agitation. Addressing a public event in Jaipur, the CM attacked his detractors for trying to make paper leaks an issue and said, “There must have been 15 paper leaks in Gujarat and 22 in Uttar Pradesh; where aren’t papers being leaked? But we made a law and sent 200 people to jail. Which state has sent (so many people to jail over paper leaks)?” “The Opposition has no issue hence they talk of paper leak, and say that compensation be given to 26 lakh persons. Aesi maang ki jaati hai ki paper out ho gaye isliye inko muavaza milna chahiye, btaiye aap. Isko kya kahenge, buddhi ka diwaliyapan nahi kahenge isko? (It is demanded that since paper has been leaked, compensation should be given. Won’t this be called mental bankruptcy?),” the CM said at the inauguration of a new terminal of Sindhi Camp bus station in Jaipur. “Has anyone in the history of the world made such a demand, that if a paper has been leaked, then the students who were studying and could not give examination be given compensation. Can the government give?” he asked. However, the CM did not name Pilot but only targeted the “opposition” in his statement. Addressing a rally earlier this month, at the end of his five-day long Jan Sangharsh Yatra, Pilot had demanded that the “corruption-ridden” Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) be dissolved, reconstituted and backed by a new law. He had also demanded that compensation be provided to “lakhs of students” who have suffered economically due to paper leaks and a high-level inquiry be conducted into corruption cases that took place during the Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government. He had warned that if these three demands were not met by month-end, he would launch a state-wide agitation.
