‘Sholay’ stir ends, men descend water tank after Minister’s assurance

Jaipur: Two men perched on a water tank for two days to demand the cancellation of a sub-inspector recruitment exam ended their agitation on Tuesday after Rajasthan minister Kirodi Lal Meena climbed up to discuss the issue with them and finally succeeded in his entreaties. Reprising a much loved scene from “Sholay” 49 years ago, Laduram Chaudhary (35) and Vikas Bidhuri (34) had been on the tank since Sunday, going 50 hours without food or water. It took Meena to persuade them to come down, assuring them that he would arrange a meeting with Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma after the assembly bypolls. “I will meet the CM on November 14... I will make them meet him and raise their demand,” Meena told reporters.

As curious crowds gathered at the spot in the city’s Himmat Nagar area, Meena used a loudspeaker to speak to the two men. “Beta, neeche aa jao. Beth kar baat karenge aur koi rasta nikalenge (Come down please. We will sit and talk to find a solution),” he appealed.

And one of them in turn said, “No Baba, you come up.” The tribal leader is known as Baba in many quarters. And so it was that the 73-year-old, who had raised the paper leak issue with the previous Congress-led government, climbed up the many stairs to hold talks with the two men demanding that the SI recruitment 2021 exam be cancelled.

The BJP leader was initially unsure of going up. Turning towards the media waiting for him, he said he had come straight from the by-election campaign in Dausa. “They have not taken food or water for over 50 hours. I have requested them to come down,” he said. Meena said Bidhuri and Laduram could not clear the Sl recruitment exam because they were short of just seven and three marks, respectively.

“They did hard work but paper mafias leaked paper during the former Congress government. Three chairmen of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) were also involved in the paper leaks. I had given evidence to the former government but nothing was done,” he said. The agriculture minister then decided to talk to them face to face.

A ladder was brought and Meena ascended the rungs to reach the stairs of the tank with the help of his two security personnel. The two young men also came down and touched the minister’s feet. After that, the three went up again and were in talks for more than 90 minutes. A hydraulic machine was called in to bring Meena, who was having trouble in his knees, and the men down.

The men announced they would call off the agitation saying that they trust Meena. Chaudhary and Bidhuri have been the centre of much attention since Sunday when they climbed the high tank and waved banners from the railing.

As soon as other unemployed youths raising the same demand got the news, they rushed to the spot in solidarity. Police surrounded the place and placed a net around the tank. A team of SDRF was also called to handle the situation.