NEW DELHI: The Delhi University’s decision to cancel the scheduled celebration of the birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap, the 15th-century warrior king of the erstwhile Mewar estate, has sparked a political row.
The event was initially granted permission but was subsequently cancelled by the authorities without citing any specific reason, just a day before its scheduled date on May 7.
Organizers, however, claim that it was cancelled under pressure from the government, fearing that a gathering of Rajput personalities would fuel dissent within the community, particularly in parts of the country where the community is opposing the BJP.
Prominent figures such as Ravindra Singh Bhati, MLA Barmer; Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, former Rajasthan minister and Lok Sabha candidate of the Congress from Jaipur; Brigadier (Retd) Bhupesh Singh Hada; and Adrija Manjari Singh, daughter of former Prime Minister VP Singh, were among the guests for the event. Preparations for the event had been ongoing for the past month.
In response to the event’s cancellation, a group of university students staged a sit-in protest in front of the arts faculty for a brief period on Tuesday.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh criticised the BJP and ABVP for cancelling the programme, recalling the previous controversial remarks made against the Kshatriya community by minister Parsottam Rupala.