Centre suppressing dissent as it's rattled over rising public anger: Pilot

Jaipur, Jul 18 (PTI) Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday accused the Central government of avoiding dialogue and suppressing dissent after being on the back foot over rising public anger on issues related to the education system. Talking to reporters during a visit to his constituency Tonk, he said it was surprising that the government was not willing to talk to activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike at Delhi's Jantar Mantar since June 28, nor accept his demands. "The government is not ready to talk to Sonam Wangchuk ji nor accept his demands. When pressure is building from across the country on the issues for which he was on a hunger strike, the government appears rattled," Pilot told reporters. Instead of engaging in dialogue, he said, the government forcibly removed a person who was on a peaceful hunger strike. "This shows the government neither wants to fulfil the demands nor engage in dialogue. No representative went to speak to Wangchuk or understand the issues. Instead of resolving the matter, they removed him. This is very unfortunate," he said. Pilot claimed the government is rattled by the growing public sentiment against it, asserting that the anger among youth over issues such as paper leaks and lack of accountability would not subside. "Young people want accountability and action against those responsible for paper leaks. They want transparency and opportunities. The government should make its stand clear, including on the demand for the education minister's resignation," he said. Stating that his party's stand was clear, the Congress leader referred to its outreach programmes across the country to raise students' issues. On Rajasthan, Pilot accused the state government of delaying local body and panchayat elections, alleging that it was doing so to avoid facing an adverse public mandate. "The government is making excuses to postpone elections. It knows that whenever elections are held, the mandate will go against it. This shows the government has failed and lost public trust," he said. He also alleged that governance in key sectors such as education and healthcare had deteriorated, and infrastructure works had slowed down. Later, reviewing development works in Tonk, Pilot said projects such as a nursing college, a new medical college and hospital works, which had faced delays, were expected to be completed in the coming months. "I have directed officials to expedite the work as investments have already been made. People should get the benefits at the earliest," he said. He also stressed the need to improve water and electricity supply in the district, calling them key issues, and said efforts were being made to enhance drinking water supply, including through tankers. Pilot added that road construction work would begin soon and urged authorities to operationalise a major bridge project -- whose construction and testing have been completed -- at the earliest for public use. PTI AG RUK RUK