Criticises District Collector, Sparks Unrest with Name-Calling at Protest
Forest minister Sanjay Sharma protest outside Alwar Nagar Nigam Wednesday
ALWAR: Forest minister Sanjay Sharma staged a protest outside Alwar Nagar Nigam Wednesday, targeting his own govt officials and accusing the district collector and the municipal administration of corruption and delaying appointment letters for sanitation workers despite official orders.Congress workers led by district president Prakash Gangawat also protested at Nagar Nigam premises Wednesday, leading to pushing and jostling with police, while BJP and Congress workers confronted each other amid day-long unrest.During the protest, Sharma alleged that Nagar Nigam Commissioner Sohan Singh Naruka was not following directions from ministers and senior IAS officers and accused District Collector Artika Shukla of corruption and obstructing public welfare. Sharma allegedly indulged in name-calling of collector Shukla and other officials.After an intervention from Chief Minister’s Office, appointment letters for five sanitation workers were prepared and handed over at the protest site. The remaining candidates were assured that their appointment letters would be issued during Union Home minister Amit Shah’s upcoming visit on Aug 16. Further, a three-member committee was formed to scrutinise documents and issue appointments to 69 candidates within three days, with further appointments to be given after verifications.Forest minister Sharma began the protest around 10 am with sanitation workers, expressing anger at District Collector Shukla and Nagar Nigam Commissioner Naruka. After about five hours, ADM Yogesh Dagur and Commissioner Naruka reached the site with five appointment letters, which Sharma handed to a workers’ representative before ending the protest.Sanitation worker recruitment in Alwar Nagar Nigam was announced in 2012. Selected candidates said appointments were not issued to them despite court orders. Minister Sharma told the media that the high court in 2019 directed the formation of a committee through DLB, but no decision was taken under the previous Congress govt for years. He said that after the change of govt in Dec 2023, the workers’ union approached him, and he took up the matter with the urban development and housing minister and others. He said DLB reiterated in 2025 that 329 candidates were eligible and should be appointed, but some officials were still creating hurdles.Valmiki community representative Jitendra Sarwan alleged the process was deliberately being stalled against his community. A day earlier, sanitation workers surrounded Commissioner Naruka’s chamber after his transfer to Bharatpur, leading to police being called as tensions escalated.Wednesday’s episode sparked criticism from Congress, with former chief minister Ashok Gehlot saying it was embarrassing that a cabinet minister was feeling compelled to stage a sit-in against his own govt administration and labelled the situation as indicative of ministers being relegated to “mere rubber stamps.” Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully and Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara used the incident to question the govt’s grip on bureaucracy.
