The students were taken into custody on Sunday before a proposed demonstration at RR College. Police said the planned protest was intended to highlight the police action against student demonstrators at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, the suspension of student union elections in Rajasthan, poor road conditions and allegations of corruption linked to what protesters have described as the Matsya scam.
The detentions preceded Shah’s appearance at Vijay Nagar Ground alongside Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma. The programme combined a large public meeting with the launch of development projects, welfare transfers and employment initiatives across Rajasthan.
Initial programme details put the package at ₹6,279 crore covering 933 works, including 151 projects valued at ₹783 crore in Alwar district. Figures released after the event showed Shah inaugurated or laid foundation stones for development works valued at ₹6,453 crore across 17 districts, reflecting an expanded final project list.
Police did not immediately disclose the precise number of students detained or details of how long they were held. The action was preventive, with authorities intervening before the planned demonstration could take place.
The protesters had intended to raise the July police action at Jantar Mantar, where students associated with demonstrations over education and examination-related grievances faced police intervention. The episode has continued to generate political debate and student mobilisation, with demands for accountability extending beyond Delhi.
Restoration of student union elections has also become a significant grievance among sections of Rajasthan’s student community. Elections to campus unions have remained suspended, prompting students and political organisations to press the state government to resume the process. Supporters argue that elected unions provide students with a formal mechanism to raise academic and administrative concerns.
Local issues were also part of the proposed Alwar demonstration. Students planned to highlight deteriorating roads and allegations surrounding the so-called Matsya scam, a term being used in political disputes involving alleged irregularities connected with the fisheries sector. The allegations remain contested and have become part of a broader confrontation between government critics and the ruling establishment.
The preventive action in Alwar follows similar police interventions ahead of some of Shah’s public engagements elsewhere. Political workers were detained in Pune earlier this month ahead of a visit by Shah and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Police described those measures as precautions intended to maintain security and prevent disruption of official programmes.
Shah’s Alwar event, meanwhile, showcased the Rajasthan government’s development and employment agenda. Among the prominent projects was a new processing facility at the Alwar Saras Dairy complex. The dairy project is designed with an initial processing capacity of about 300,000 litres a day, with provision for expansion to 500,000 litres.
Dairy processing and cattle-feed facilities in other parts of Rajasthan were also inaugurated or advanced as part of the programme. The measures form part of the Centre and state government’s effort to expand cooperative infrastructure and improve returns for livestock farmers.
The event also included the distribution of appointment letters to more than 10,500 newly recruited government personnel under the state’s employment programme. Direct benefit transfers worth about ₹152 crore were announced for beneficiaries of government schemes.
Several cooperative banking initiatives were launched alongside the infrastructure package. New district-level cooperative banking arrangements covering areas including Phalodi, Didwana, Balotra and Pratapgarh featured in the programme, with the government emphasising access to low-cost agricultural credit.
Shah used his address to highlight the Bharatiya Janata Party governments at the Centre and in Rajasthan and presented the investment package as evidence of coordinated development policy. He also attacked the Congress and linked the state government’s programmes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on farmers, young people, women and economically weaker households.
(IPA Service)
