Mihir Bhoj row: CM’S name on plaque smeared with black paint
GREATER NOIDA: Tension prevailed in the Dadri area of Greater Noida on Tuesday after the name of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was allegedly smeared with black paint on a plaque installed below the statue of ninth-century king Mihir Bhoj at the local college. Adityanath unveiled the 15-foot statue on September 22.
According to a video that emerged on social media, besides the chief minister’s, the names of Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Singh Nagar and Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, both leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, were also blackened. After the alleged incident, there is heavy police deployment at Mihir Bhoj PG College that houses the statue. Police said a probe is on.
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Row over caste
Since the inauguration of Mihir Bhoj’s statue, the Gurjar community has been protesting against the removal of their caste’s name from the plaque installed below the statue. The community leaders maintain that the king belonged to their community. The Rajput community has also claimed that the king belonged to their caste.
The alleged blackening of the leaders’ names on the plaque took place after Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Nagar visited the statue and paid tribute to king Mihir Bhoj on Tuesday morning. Nagar, who belongs to the Gurjar community, also shared a picture of himself standing next to the statue on Twitter.
“This is not an issue at all because the word ‘Gurjar’ was always there on the plaque, and our community is completely happy with the party. Some opposition parties are making it an issue to garner votes,” said Nagar after paying tributes to the statue.
However, Nagar’s efforts are seemingly not enough to convince agitated Gurjars to call off their campaign against the BJP.
“Now, they (BJP leaders) have written ‘Gurjar’ before king Mihir Bhoj. But why was it omitted during the CM’S visit? We have called a national level meeting at the Greater Noida’s institute on October 2 to decide on our future course of action,” said Navin Bhati, a member of Rashtriya Gurjar Swabhiman Samiti formed to fight for the cause, and national president of Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Front.
Meanwhile, the Rajput community also planned a panchayat on Sunday after they learnt that the word “Gurjar” was again added. “They are distorting history without any basis. We cannot let it happen. We have called a panchayat on this issue,” said Prithivi Singh, national secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha.