Udaipur: “There is something known as the rule of law, and we’re no longer seeing it in Udaipur. The government needs to declare Section 144,” said Lakshyaraj Singh, son of Arvind Singh and cousin of Vishwaraj Singh––members of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar, currently engaged in a heated standoff that has shaken up the city of lakes.
The gates of Udaipur’s City Palace were barely visible behind police barricades following intense family drama Monday night, when Vishvaraj, newly anointed the 77th Maharana of Mewar after the death of his father Mahendra Singh, attempted to enter the palace, the residence of his uncle Arvind Singh.
Denied entry, Vishvaraj—the BJP MLA from Nathdwara—and his followers camped outside the premises. Praying at a shrine located inside the City Palace is part of a set of rituals required for Vishvaraj to take on the Mahrana mantle.
The family has been locked in a property dispute for the past several decades, with the Arvind Singh faction operating the City Palace and its three luxury hotels, as well as Udaipur’s famous Eklingji temple. But matters came to a head Monday night when the face-off between the two factions led to stone-pelting in which three police personnel were injured. Udaipur collector Arvind Poswal has been tasked with peacefully resolving the dispute.
Samor Bagh, the residence of Vishvaraj Singh, is packed with supporters teeming with Rajput pride. They say no one can prevent them from entering the palace. Meanwhile, the palace gates are yet to open.
Contacted by ThePrint, Vishvaraj said, “I still don’t understand why it (the violence) happened. That many people wouldn’t have come otherwise, they only came to show solidarity.”
Singh added that he has received official permission to visit the palace at 5 pm Wednesday and complete the ritual of praying to the family deity. Earlier in the day, he visited the Eklingji temple—another coronation ritual.
“The (Eklingji) temple is open to everyone. It’s a feeling that belongs to everyone,” Lakshyaraj had said Tuesday. “It’s not there for show.”
Lakshyaraj has urged the ruling BJP government to stop people assembling outside the palace gates. He added that if Vishvaraj believed the palace belonged to him, he should take legal recourse. “The door is always open.”
“If I want to enter your house, can I do it without permission? Do I have that right? And if you say no, will you be subjected to this kind of treatment?” he said.
Lakshyaraj also claimed that his BJP MLA cousin had received special treatment, because he “sits in the arms of the government”. He added that the state machinery should also be available to ordinary citizens.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)