Jaipur, Nov 26 (IANS): The police manhandled and baton-charged the unemployed women, protesting outside the state Congress office, here on Monday. The protesting women were demanding new vacancies as promised in the budget by the government.

The police initially tried to shoo them away, but when they refused to budge and continued to raise slogans, women constables dragged a few of them and detained them. The other police personnel, meanwhile, manhandled and hurled abuses at them.

One of the women even fainted during the melee.

Later, women leaders had a word with state Minister Bhanwar Singh Bhati.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Barmer, Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia condemned the manhandling of unemployed women. "The Congress talks high of respecting women, but in reality it acts differently," he said.

Criticising the state government, RLP National convenor and Nagaur MP said, the police baton-charge on women demanding their rights was a condemnable act. A senior officer should have been deployed to deal with the issue, he said and added, thrashing and abusing women protesters was unwanted.