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The vast expanse of the magnificent Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur was quiet most of October 30 afternoon, but Darshan Audichya, a Chartered Accountant in his early 30s, sipping a hot cup of tea from a local stall is restless — for a change.
Audichya is not alone. Most young professionals News18 spoke to are disappointed with the last five years of the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan. Most blame the Congress on three fronts — repeated exam paper leaks, tailor Kanhaiya Lal’s gruesome murder followed by the handling of the case by the state government, and the freebie culture.
Paper Leak – Political Hot Potato
“Definitely paper leak is a big issue,” said Darsan Audichya. “Paper leak is taking place on a loop. The paper gets leaked, the exam gets rescheduled, and the paper gets leaked again.
If that wasn’t enough, Naresh Nayak, another CA in his late 20s, went a step further and pinned the blame on Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, who was recently raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Asked on why Jalore’s name figures prominently in this row, Nayak alleged, “The PCC chief dominates the area. A lot of candidates were selected from there apart from other areas of Rajasthan. Paper leak ‘mein unke sabse bada hath hai’ (he is behind the paper leak).”
With close to 18 paper leaks in the past four years, this issue dominates Udaipur’s political discourse like most parts of Rajasthan. Earlier, in an exclusive interview with News18, Dotasra said, “I have no connection with the Kalam Institute (which is at the centre of the paper leak scam). The ED could find no such documents”. But the BJP is cashing in on public sentiment.
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has already alleged that the ED’s raid was against what it termed “the big fishes” in the paper leak case.
Angst over Kanhaiya Lal’s Murder
On June 28 last year, tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli was killed by two men in Udaipur for extending his support to the controversial statement by suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. The attackers captured the act of slitting his throat on camera and circulated the video online — something that shocked the nation.
People of Udaipur, particularly the young brigade, still hold a lot of grudge against the state government over the issue. Gourave Dave, a young professional, says, “I think the authorities lacked in taking actions (immediately).
Moreover, Audichya said there will be counter that the matter was handed over to the NIA, but “the lack of intent was seen by us.” He further said the Gehlot government has made some “very good” policy decisions like Rajasthan Chiranjeevi Yojana or medical insurance but he doesn’t hide his disillusionment over the perceived handling of the case by the state government.
Dave complains that the accused are yet to face justice for such a gruesome murder, and as a resident of Udaipur, he is not happy about it.
A city court last year transferred Kanhaiya Lal’s murder case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) following the agency’s submission before the court for approval. It happened after the home ministry directed the anti-terror agency to take over the case.
‘We Don’t Want Freebies’
Free mobile phones, ration, LPG cylinder at Rs 500 for Below Poverty Line (BPL) people, scooters for 30,000 meritorious girl students at a total cost of Rs 390 crore have been promised by the state government this poll season. While many, particularly, the marginalised, have acknowledged the benefit of these schemes, most professionals News18 spoke to took a strong stand against it. Deepak Bhavsar is a young professional who has barely started his career but proudly declared, “I don’t want any freebie for myself. We see these mega freebie announcements as soon as the election season comes knocking,” said Bhavsar.
Shakib Chippa, another professional News18 spoke to, made it clear that he is against the large-scale freebies announced by the state government.
Meanwhile, Naresh Nayak was clear that such a barrage of freebie announcements would cost the financial health of the state. “I am with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this question. Freebies are not good in the long run,” Nayak said.
However, there is disillusionment with the current regime in the face of a Narendra Modi-centric campaign that pitches the idea of a ‘New India’ where subsidies can be replaced with the $5 trillion economy and repeated paper leaks can be countered with ED raids.
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