Apologise by Oct 30, Gurjars tell UP govt
GREATER NOIDA: Members of the Gurjar community on Saturday held a meeting under the banner of ‘Rashtriya Gurjar Swabhiman Samiti’ to discuss the issue related to the statue of king Mihir Bhoj. In the meeting, the Gurjar leaders set a October 30 deadline for the Uttar Pradesh government to issue an apology to the community for the alleged removal of word ‘Gurjar’ from the plaque installed below the 15-foot statue of the ninth-century ruler.
The statue has been the centre of a controversy since its inauguration at the Mihir Bhoj PG College in Dadri by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on September 22. 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 the Gurjar community. The Rajput community has also claimed that the king belonged to their caste.
“The samiti has demanded the UP government to issue an apology over the issue and add the word ‘Gurjar’ before the name of king Mihir Bhoj on the plaque by October 30,” said Raj Kumar Bhati, a Gurjar leader.
“If the government does not issue an apology and rectify the plaque, we will change the plaque and intensify our struggle,” he said. The meeting was held at a research institute in Greater Noida.
On September 26, during a mahapanchayat held at Piyawali village in Dadri, the Gurjar leaders had formed the swabhiman samiti and called a meeting on October 2. More than 600 people, who participated in the mahapanchayat, were booked for allegedly violating Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC). Police had said that the organisers of the mahapanchayat were not given permission to hold any such event.
On September 28, police booked 150 people for allegedly smearing black paint on the chief minister’s name on the plaque.
Ravindra Bhati, another Gurjar leader, said that if a case was registered for smearing black paint on the plaque, a case should also be registered against those who removed the word ‘Gurjar’ from the plaque. “Everyone is equal before the law, and a counter FIR should be registered in this case,” he said.
The Gurjar leaders claimed that around 200 people from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, and Madhya Pradesh participated in the meeting on Saturday. They have also planned to hold similar meetings at local levels in these states and continue their protest.
Police have so far arrested four persons for damaging the plaque and posters of the chief minister’s programme in Dadri. The swabhiman samiti also demanded that all the arrested persons be released.
Meanwhile, Thakur Dhiraj Singh, UP president of Rajput Uthan Sabha, said that the Gurjars’ meeting on Saturday was politically motivated. “The Gurjar community leaders in the meeting urged people against voting for a certain party, which showed the programme was politically motivated. There is historical evidence that king Mihir Bhoj belongs to Rajput community. We urge people not to get misguided by the Gurjar leaders,” he said.