As Kshatriyas continue to protest against Union minister Parshottam Rupala over his remarks on erstwhile ‘maharajas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the scion of the Jamnagar royal family and praised the community for its sacrifices.
Rupala is the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the Rajkot Lok Sabha seat, which goes to polls on May 7.
Ahead of his poll rally in Jamnagar on Thursday evening, Modi met Jam Saheb Shatrusalyasinhji at his residence in the city.
“Upon reaching Jamnagar, went to the residence of Jam Saheb Shri Shatrusalyasinhji and had a wonderful interaction with him. Meeting him is always a delight. His warmth and wisdom are exemplary,” Modi said on X.
He also shared photos of Shatrusalyasinhji, the last person to hold the title of Maharaja of Nawanagar, putting a ‘halari paghdi' (royal turban) on Modi's head.
Later, Modi reached the rally venue wearing the headgear.
Addressing the rally, Modi recalled the battle of Bhuchar Mori, which was fought in 1591 between the army of Kathiawar led by Nawanagar State and the Mughal army at the Bhuchar Mori plateau near Dhrol in Jamnagar district.
The battle, which was won by the Mughal army, resulted in a large number of casualties on both sides.
“When I was chief minister in Gujarat, some Kshatriya community leaders came to meet me and invited me to attend an event at Bhuchar Mori. One of them told me ‘though we are inviting you, we know that you will not come',” said the PM, who held three more rallies in the state during the day.
Modi said when he asked the person why he made such a comment, the person told him that no chief minister had gone there in the past because someone had spread a rumour that if a CM visited that place, he would lose his chief ministership.
“I told them that I would definitely come because my CM's post held no value against the sacrifice of the Kshatriya community. And I attended that event,” Modi said.
The Kshatriya community, also known as Rajputs, is angry with Rupala for his statement about former rulers.
Rupala had triggered a row by claiming that erstwhile ‘maharajas' succumbed to the persecution by foreign rulers and Britishers and even married off their daughters to them.
The Kshatriya community in Gujarat strongly objected to the remarks as the majority of the erstwhile royals were Rajputs.
Since the BJP did not remove Rupala as its Rajkot candidate as demanded by the agitating Rajputs, the community has launched a state-wide stir and announced to hold four ‘mahasammelans' or mega gatherings ahead of the May 7 polls to “defeat” BJP in at least 10 seats in Gujarat, including Rajkot and Jamnagar.
