Rajasthan: Representatives hold online ‘jan sunwai’

TNN | Updated: Apr 21, 2020, 07:49 IST

Congress MLA from Sawai Madhopur Danish Abrar starts his online ‘jan sunwai’ on Facebook every day at 7pm

JAIPUR: The elected representatives are turning to contemporary methods like online ‘jan sunwai’ to ensure that people are not left at the mercy of the government officials during the lockdown.
They are using social media to not only communicate with the people of their constituencies about what the current problems are, but also getting their messages across to the bureaucracy and other officials.
Being the first to take to social media to interact with the people of his constituency, Congress MLA from Sawai Madhopur, Danish Abrar started the online ‘jan sunwai’ which takes place on Facebook almost every day at 7pm for half an hour and on some days for an hour. Citizens join in ‘LIVE’ and talk about their problems relating to administration, health, ration, electricity, sanitation etc.
Elaborating further, Abrar said, “Usually what happens is that either the ‘netas’ speak to other ‘netas’ or to the administration or they just address the public. Since we are unable to address public issues due to lockdown, we can deal with them online. People from my constituency, irrespective of which part of the world they are in, can connect with me and tell me about their issues which I endeavour to resolve. The main issues that I come across are supply of food and electricity.”
During Abrar’s session, officials concerned are called at that instance and are told about the issues and their response is heard by all those who are watching it live and solutions are provided then and there. Also, the next day when the jan sunwai would begin, the previous day’s prominent issues which were solved are spoken of, to reassure citizens.
Similarly, school education minister Govind Singh Dotasra utilised social media to deal with public issues and said, “Due to the lockdown, I have been interacting with people using social media. The response has been very encouraging and I will continue to use this media to ensure that people face no issues when it comes to their child’s education.”
Before the lockdown, politicians were holding the ‘jan sunwai’ once a week on a rotational basis. “Through social media, I give messages for precautions as well as to deal with the problems of the people from Ajmer. I use all social platforms to be connected to people,” said Vasudev Devnani, Ajmer MLA.