Several villages in Rajasthan dominated by the Rajput community have imposed a ban on the entry of BJP leaders over the unveiling of a statue of Samrat Mihir Bhoj, a 9th-century ruler, with the word ‘Gurjar’ inscribed on the plaque in Kaithal district.
BJP Kaithal MLA Lila Ram Gurjar and other leaders from the Gurjar community had unveiled the statue amid tight security on July 20. Since then, around 40 office-bearers of the BJP State unit from the Rajput community have submitted their resignations to State party chief Om Prakash Dhankar. Mr. Dhankar said efforts are on to resolve the matter amicably, but denied receiving letters of resignation.
Sanjeev Rana, BJP Kisan Morcha chief, Kaithal, told The Hindu over phone that 47 office-bearers from the Rajput community in the district have offered to resign. More resignations are expected from leaders in Karnal, Yamunanagar, Faridabad, and across the State. “Several villages such as Shahjadpur, Sudhpur, Lukhi, Pabana Hasanpur, and Kakheri have banned the entry of BJP leaders. Any BJP leader entering these villages will be shown black flags and denied entry,” Mr. Rana said.
List of demands
He said protests would continue till Chief Minister Manohar Lal meets a delegation from the Rajput community and assures action on its demands such as removal of the word ‘Gurjar’ from the plaque, dismissal of Kaithal BJP president Ashok Gurjar, and action against Mr. Lila Ram Gurjar, the local MLA.
Rajputs constitute around 5% of the State’s population and two MLAs hail from the community: Nayal Pal Rawat (Independent) and Sanjay Singh (BJP). Mr. Rana said the community has a sizeable number of voters in 15 constituencies and the BJP had given tickets to four Rajput leaders in the 2019 Assembly poll.
The present Assembly has six Gurjar MLAs, including Education Minister Kanwarpal Gurjar. Union Minister of State for Power and Faridabad Lok Sabha MP Krishan Pal Gurjar is another prominent leader from the community.
