Violence continued in the tribal areas of Dungarpur district of Rajasthan on Friday. The protesters have taken control of over 35 kilometres of National Highway 8 that connects Udaipur and Ahmedabad. They clashed with the police and set vehicles on fire.
The police had tried to get them to vacate the highway on Friday morning but they had retaliated by pelting stones. Seeing the tension escalate administration has shut down the internet in the area. Dungarpur district collector has been trying to establish contact with the protesters and convince them to vacate the blockade on the highway.
Visuals from the Dungarpur:
A high-level meeting had been held at the CM residence to take stock of the situation. BTP MLA from Dungarpur Ganesh Ghoghara, Chorasi MLA Rajkumar Raut and minister Arjun Bamania were present. The government has however not taken any decision on the demands.
PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasara said, “All decisions will be taken as per the law and all legitimate demands will be met. Some ignorant persons are creating tension. It is unfortunate that they are creating an environment of violence.”
Dotasara added, “The government is willing to give jobs but no one has the right to take the law in their hands. No one is above the law and if the demands are lawful then the jobs will be given. The 1167 posts that are pending are from the general quota. Students of both general and ST category have moved the court on the issue. Thus inciting violence on the issue is unfortunate.”
Leader of Opposition in Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria said, “The protest by tribal students that had been going on for many days has turned violent over the last two days. I have spoken to the chief minister and told him that everyone has the right to protest, but no one has the right to indulge in violence and damage the property of others. If this continues, it can create a divide in the society. The people who have indulged in violence should be identified and the action should be taken.”
The protesters have been demanding that 1167 unreserved posts of government teachers should be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe. They had been protesting since September 17 on the Kankri Dungri and had moved down to block the highway and attacked the police force. They had burnt the vehicles of the SP, DSP and SHO while 11 policemen had been injured in the attack.
