Royal rumble in Jaipur over Rajmahal’s sealing
The erstwhile Jaipur royals on Wednesday made an emotive appeal to people to stand by them against the Jaipur Development Authority’s (JDA) act of sealing the Rajmahal Palace Hotel.
Padmini Devi, the ‘Rajmata’ of the former royal family, will on Thursday lead a rally comprising of people from all communities. The silent rally will march from Tripoliya Gate in the City Palace to Rajmahal Palace.
This development came amid speculation that BJP MLA Diya Kumari, Padmini Devi’s daughter, has sought help from Union home minister Rajnath Singh, himself a Rajput, although the former denied it.
In an appeal published in local media, Padmini Devi asked people to stand by the family and pointed out that the JDA action was not only an insult to her family and the people of Jaipur but also an affront to the patriotism of her husband, late (Brig.) Bhawani Singh, a Mahavir Chakra recipient.
The action by the JDA commissioner in sealing the Rajmahal Palace Hotel was “immoral and repressive”, the appeal said, asking people to support her against the injustice.
Some Rajput associations and the Congress party have come out in support of the former royals calling the JDA action vindictive and insulting. The Congress has asked chief minister Vasundhara Raje to come clean on the hotel dispute.
The appeal by royalty has not gone down well with the BJP, whose state president Ashok Parnami said they should have waited. “I had assured Diya Kumari when she met me that no injustice would be done to her. The chief minister is back today,” Parnami said.
Kumari’s husband Narendra Singh said, “The appeal has been issued by Padmini Devi in her personal capacity. People are angered by the JDA action and have come out in our support. Why is the government harassing their own MLA when she has done no wrong?”
Jaipur Development Authority commissioner Shikhar Agarwal led JDA officials and policemen on August 24 to enter the premises of the 300-year old hotel. Purportedly, the team sealed the receiver’s office, partially damaged the staff quarters and sealed the three main gates of the hotel.
A senior JDA official told HT that the move was not sudden.
“Knowing well that court cases are pending, a month back the royal family moved an application in the Jaipur Municipal Corporation for reconstitution of the land. They tried to bypass the JDA. In the first week of August, the Corporation apprised us about the application.” The official said some new construction had also begun on the land. “It was after these developments that the JDA took action,” he said.
The move caught people by surprise because Raje, who is from the Scindia family, shares cosy ties with the former Jaipur royals. Diya Kumari was given the ticket for the assembly elections for Sawai Madhopur at Raje’s behest.