Gurugram: Weeks after losing the Adampur family bastion, Kuldeep Bishnoi is facing a challenge within his community. A Bishnoi leader has accused the senior BJP leader of humiliating him, and has raked up the matter of the ex-MLA’s younger son having married outside of his community.
The Bishnoi community ensured 15 consecutive wins for Kuldeep Bishnoi’s family from the Adampur assembly seat till 2019, starting with his late father, Bhajan Lal, first securing a victory in 1968. However, last month, Congress leader Chander Parkash, the nephew of Bhajan Lal’s confidant Ramji Lal, won the seat contesting against Bhavya Bishnoi, Kuldeep’s elder son.
Now, Kuldeep Bishnoi finds himself in an ugly row.
National president of Akhil Bhartiya Bishnoi Mahasabha—a Jodhpur-based, national-level outfit of the Bishnoi community—Devendra Buria has accused Kuldeep Bishnoi of humiliating him, allegedly because he could not raise Rs 10 crore from the community for Bhavya’s assembly poll campaign. Kuldeep Bishnoi is the mahasabha’s patron, just as Bhajan Lal was.
As the row spins out of control, Devendra Buria and Kuldeep Bishnoi have removed each other from their respective posts in the Akhil Bhartiya Bishnoi Mahasabha through two separate letters shared on the social media platform X.
Buria removed Kuldeep Bishnoi from the post of the mahasabha’s patron via a letter shared from his X handle at 1.05 am Wednesday, citing the marriage of his younger son, Chaitanya Bishnoi. Saying that the marriage has caused widespread anger within the Bishnoi community, Buria asserted that it would be inappropriate for Kuldeep Bishnoi to continue in his position.
श्री @bishnoikuldeep जी आप को अखिल भारतीय बिश्नोई महासभा के संरक्षक के पद से असामाजिक कार्य करने का दोषी पाए जाने पर तुरंत प्रभाव से बर्खास्त किया जाता हैं।
देवेंद्र बूड़ीया
राष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष
अखिल भारतीय बिश्नोई महासभा pic.twitter.com/mMYpwGlZea
— Devendra Bishnoi (@Devendraburia) November 12, 2024
Chaitanya Bishnoi is a cricketer who married Srishti Arora, the daughter of Shilpi Arora, a Congress leader from the Punjabi community in Uttarakhand. Chaitanya married Srishti in December last year at the same function where Bhavya married IAS officer Pari Bishnoi.
Buria’s letter came within hours of a letter posted on X by Kuldeep Bishnoi as the mahasabha’s patron, removing Buria from his post and appointing Parsaram Bishnoi as president. In the letter, he accused Buria of being a divisive figure within the community.
Along with the letter, Bishnoi wrote, “The Akhil Bhartiya Bishnoi Mahasabha has always strived to fulfil its duties in the field of social service, advancing the ideals shown by Guru Jambheshwar Bhagwan, and will continue to do so. Rising above personal positions, interests, and titles, we must all work together toward the unity of our community.”
“In light of new circumstances, and after consulting with all respected members of the community, a new appointment has been made to the position of president in the mahasabha. I am fully confident that Shri Parsaram Bishnoi will carry forward the proud legacy of the late Shri Ramsingh Ji and will elevate the mahasabha to new heights. Say, victory to Shri Guru Jambheshwar Bhagwan!”
अखिल भारतीय बिश्नोई महासभा सदैव गुरू जंभेश्वर भगवान के दिखाए आदर्शों को आगे बढ़ाते हुए समाजसेवा की दिशा में अपने कत्र्तव्यों को पूरा करने का प्रयास करती आई है और हमेशा करती रहेगी। व्यक्ति, पद और निजी स्वार्थों से ऊपर उठकर हम सबको मिलकर समाज की एकजुटता की दिशा में कार्य करते रहना… pic.twitter.com/N7ZxzJIBSM
— Kuldeep Bishnoi (@bishnoikuldeep) November 12, 2024
Late Ram Singh Bishnoi, mentioned in his post, was a senior Congress leader and a seven-time MLA from the Looni assembly seat of Rajasthan. He worked as the mahasabha’s president when Bhajan Lal was the patron. Parasram Bishnoi is his son.
Following the letter, Buria went live on Facebook, stating that Kuldeep Bishnoi does not have the authority to remove the sabha president. He also announced a large meeting to discuss the matter at the Bishnoi religious site Mukam Dham in Jodhpur. Later, at the meeting on Wednesday, Paras Ram Bishnoi said he had no greed for any post and would go with the community’s will.
Before community members, Buria claimed that a day before the Kuldeep Bishnoi letter, he had accused the BJP leader of demanding Rs 10 crore in donations for his son’s election campaign through his friend and Nalwa MLA Randhir Panihar.
ThePrint reached Kuldeep Bishnoi for comment, but is yet to receive a response. This report will be updated if and when it is received. However, in his letter, Bishnoi accused Buria of spreading baseless and false allegations.
However, the meeting in Jodhpur ended in a major setback for Kuldeep Bishnoi, with community members deciding to abolish the patron’s post, allowing Buria to continue as president and revoking the title of ‘Bishnoi Ratna’ bestowed upon Kuldeep Bishnoi.
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Allegations and counter-allegations
Calling Devendra Buria a divisive figure, Kuldeep Bishnoi, in his X post, said that Buria had been making baseless, false, and divisive statements on social media for several days, causing tensions and potential conflicts within the community.
Bishnoi claimed to have received numerous complaints from individuals, saints, mahasabha officials, and politicians within the community. He also alleged that Buria has not adhered to proper procedures in various construction-related tenders. Bishnoi said he was removing Buria from his position to maintain unity within the community and trust among the mahasabha officials.
He stated that the mahasabha’s ‘constitution’ prescribes a democratic process for electing the president and the executive committee. He also promised a formal announcement as soon as possible for fresh polls to elect the mahasabha officials and president.
On the other hand, Buria claimed during a Facebook live session Monday night that Randhir Panihar had, for the past two days, been calling him to Delhi. When he arrived there, he was badly treated and told to resign for not managing to collect the donations, Buria further alleged.
Talking to the media following Buria’s allegations, Panihar said that Buria was his friend, and he was unaware why Buria was levelling false allegations against him.
Panihar is known as an old supporter of Kuldeep Bishnoi since the latter started heading his political party, the Haryana Janhit Congress.
Kuldeep Bishnoi secured a BJP ticket for Randhir Panihar for the Haryana election and even campaigned for him, with Panihar going on to win the seat. Meanwhile, Bhavya Bishnoi lost. Kuldeep’s cousin Dura Ram Bishnoi also lost in Fatehabad.
Panihar has publicly stated that he is willing to vacate his legislative seat for Kuldeep Bishnoi or, if he chooses, for his son to contest.
Decisions taken at Jodhpur meeting
In the meeting in Jodhpur, which extended beyond two hours, the Bishnoi community members reached five main decisions.
The first was the abolition of the patron position. Kuldeep Bishnoi was removed from the patron position, and the community members also decided that there would no longer be a patron within the mahasabha.
The second decision was to hold a democratic election process. From now on, the election of the new mahasabha president will be conducted democratically. Previously, the patron used to select the president.
The third decision was that Devendra Buria would remain president until an election. Kuldeep Bishnoi appointed Buria as the mahasabha president and later issued the letter replacing him with Parsaram Bishnoi. The community members resolved the conflict in favour of Buria.
The fourth decision was to revoke the ‘Bishnoi Ratna’ bestowed upon Kuldeep Bishnoi only four years ago. A highly prestigious honour within the community, the ‘Bishnoi Ratna’ has, to date, been awarded to only two individuals—Bhajan Lal and Kuldeep Bishnoi.
The fifth and last decision involved ensuring that Kuldeep Bishnoi or his family did not interfere in the mahasabha’s affairs. Kuldeep Bishnoi has, so far, exerted a significant influence on the mahasabha, as well as his community.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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Meeting was in Mukam, Bikaner not in Jodhpur. At least do the proper research before posting article.