On Friday afternoon, a man climbed up the statue of Maharana Pratap at the busy Maharana Pratap circle in Banswada, Rajasthan and damaged the javelin. The man who was carrying the lathi, left everyone shocked with his act.
The man climbed up screaming and managed to damage the statue. Some passer-bys tried to stop him immediately but he intimated them with the lathi that he was carrying. However, before he could vandalize the statue further, some people successfully managed to pull him down and hand him over to the Kotwali.
As the video of the incident was circulated around, people expressed their anguish. Soon, activists of Rajput Karni Sena gathered and registered protest. They demanded SP Tejaswini Gautam take strict action against the culprit. They also urged the administration to replace the desecrated statue with a new one. Erstwhile royal Jagmal Singh, President of Rajput Samaj Rajendra Singh Anandapuri and others also participated in the gathering.
The Kshatriya samaj has demanded that the statue be replaced within seven days or they will carry out protests.
A case of damaging the public property has been filed against the miscreant, who was sent for a medical test. He first claimed to be a resident of Sagar and later Gangasagar. The police alleged at first instance the culprit appeared to be mentally ill.
Anandapuri, fearing a conspiracy, urged the administration to investigate the matter deeply.
The Congress government in Rajasthan has been on the receiving end of flak for downplaying the valour of Maharana Pratap. Recently, it was reported that the state government will change school syllabus to change that in the Haldighati battle, Maharana Pratap did not win the battle. State education minister Govind Singh Dotasara had reportedly said that it was not necessary to know who won the battle. Earlier, the BJP had put in the syllabus that the Haldighati battle which was fought between Maharana Pratap and Mughal emperor Akbar, Akbar was defeated.
