While beleaguered Union Minister Parshottam Rupala is terming the protests against him as attempts to “vitiate” the atmosphere, Rajkot-based Kshatriya leaders on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the BJP.
P T Jadeja, international president of Rajput Yuva Sangh, led a delegation of members of the Shree Rajput Kshatriya Community Coordination Committee (SRKCCC) to meet Rajkot city BJP president Mukesh Doshi and submit the memorandum.
Women protesters
The representation questions the police action against women from their community who were shouting slogans against Rupala in Jamnagar on Wednesday. They also asked if the police were acting on behalf of the BJP and wondered if the incident was an attempt to disturb peace in Gujarat.
Videos of the Jamnagar incident showed a scuffle between Kshatriya women and police minutes before Modi Parivar Sabha, a BJP election meeting in Ward No. 6 of Jamnagar.
Kshatriya women were seen raising slogans against Rupala amid upturned chairs arranged at the venue. In one of the videos, three women police officers can be seen guiding two Kshatriya women towards a police van.
Similar protests were held at a BJP event in Ward No. 5 of Jamnagar on Tuesday and brought the ruling party’s election meeting to a halt. Women police officers escorted some of the Kshatriya women protesters from the venue.
Mistreatment alleged
The SRKCCC representation called the police intervention “mistreatment” meted out to Kshatriya women. It highlighted that this mistreatment happened in the presence of BJP leaders.
“Kshatriya women were expressing their feelings against Parshottambhai (Rupala) in a democratic manner and local leaders of the BJP were present at the meeting. They looked on as police personnel, who were present beforehand, behaved very badly with the Kshatriya women, dragging them by grabbing their hands and removing their pallu which is the pride of women. They were pushed into a van like big criminals and taken away. This mistreatment (durvyavhar) is highly condemnable,” stated the Kshatriya memorandum.
“Is such action being taken at the behest of the BJP? At whose behest are police adopting such an approach and indulging, in a planned manner, in actions to disturb peace and safety in Gujarat?,” stated the memorandum.
Padminiba Vala detained
However, a few hours later, Mahila Karni Sena president Padminiba Vala and other Kshatriya women were again detained by the police as they tried to march towards a BJP election meeting at the party office on 150-feet Ring Road of Rajkot city on Thursday evening. The meeting took place and was addressed by Rupala, among others.
Addressing the meeting, Rupala said, “With folded hands, I request you to work with patience and restrain in the face of attempts that are being made to vitiate the atmosphere. I have full trust in you all and the voters of Rajkot Lok Sabha seat”.
Earlier, Shailendrasinh Jadeja, a Kshatriya leader who was part of the delegation which met the BJP president, said the community needs the BJP to clarify its position. He said on Wednesday, someone removed the turban of Raj Shekhavat, the leader of (Kshatriya) Karni Sena, in Ahmedabad. Later in the evening, the pallu of Kshatriya women was removed by police in Jamnagar.
‘No excess police action’
Senior police sources say there was no excess in police action. As protests continue in many parts of the state, Rupala’s face was blackened with ink on a BJP hoarding on the 150-feet Ring Road on Thursday.
Members of the Kshatriya community have been protesting against Rupala from the last week of March for his alleged remarks on Indian kings during British rule. The community has been demanding that the BJP cancel Rupala’s election ticket.
Also Read: Rajkot Lok Sabha Candidate Parshottam Rupala Begins Door-to-Door Campaign Amid Controversy
