LUCKNOW: The controversy triggered by Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman over his objectionable remarks about Rajput king Rana Sanga refuses to die down.
A large number of Karni Sena activists gathered in Agra and were likely to march to Suman’s residence again on Saturday.
As per the sources, the Karni Sena activists, around 80,000 in number, reached Agra to celebrate Rana Sanga’s birth anniversary on Saturday. The activists, brandishing swords and sticks, arrived in the City of Taj not only from UP but also Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Their number is likely to go up further, said the sources.
The Sena sources added that prominent Rajput leaders, including Braj Bhushan Sharan Singh, Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, Veer Pratap Singh and Sunny Singh, were also expected to join the congregation.
Calling their gathering ‘Rakt Swabhiman Sammelan,’ the Karni Sena activists assembled in a sprawling 50 bigha ground in Ram Garhi of Agra.
Given the massive gathering, police and the district administration made tight security arrangements, with a three-layer security for the MP.
Karni Sena national president Raj Shekhawat said, "The programme is being held to express objections and expectations democratically. The government has given us the time at five o'clock for a meeting with the delegation to listen to their demands. We will hold the event within the discipline."
Organising committee member Dheeraj Sikarwar said, "This is a historic day when a message will be sent from Garhi Rami."
In the wake of such a huge gathering, the district police also reached the venue. However, the cops had to face the anger of the agitated activists and they had to leave the place.
The district police had put barricades at over 500 places to stop the march. Boulders were also placed at different locations on the road to restrict the movement of the Karni Sena activists. More than 10,000 PAC and police personnel were deployed across the Taj city and the drone monitoring continued the whole day.
Moreover, Suman’s residence had been converted into a chhavni (police camp) with the deployment of over 1,000 cops on the premises. The district authorities had sealed the one km stretch approaching Suman’s residence. The SP MP had also deployed 10 bouncers for his personal security.
Earlier on Thursday, the SP MP and his son Randhir Suman had moved Allahabad High Court seeking security in the wake of threats given by the Karni Sena and the incident of vandalism on his residence by Karni Sena activists on March 26.
They had sought an apology from the MP while threatening to march again to Agra on April 12 in case Suman failed to comply.
Rajput Karni Sena's national president Pratap Singh Kalvi, who had been camping in Agra for the last three days, said: "Our demand letter is ready which includes the termination of membership of SP MP Ramjilal Suman, apology for the derogatory remarks made on Rashtraveer Rana Sanga, Bharat Ratna for the brave warrior, naming of Jewar Airport after Sanga, withdrawal of the cases registered against Karni Sena people and inclusion of Sanga's history in the curriculum."
Significantly, the SP MP, on March 21, had said in Rajya Sabha that Indian Muslims did not consider Babur their ideal.
“They follow Muhammad Saheb and the Sufi tradition. However, I want to ask, who brought Babur here? It was Rana Sanga who invited Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodhi. So, if that’s the case, then Hindus must be descendants of traitor Sanga. We criticise Babur, but why do we not criticise Rana Sanga?,” the MP had asked the upper house.
Consequently, over a thousand Karni Sena activists had caused a ruckus outside the house of Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman in Agra protesting his statement wherein he had called Rana Sanga a ‘traitor.’ At the time of the incident, the RS MP was in Delhi attending the Parliament session.
Moreover, a day after the protests at his residence by the Karni Sena activists in Agra, Ramji Lal Suman refused to apologise for his remarks on Rajput king Rana Sanga, saying one could not deny history.