By Omar Rashid
New Delhi: Thousands of men linked to the right-wing group Karni Sena and other associated Kshatriya outfits assembled on the outskirts of Agra on April 12 brandishing swords, spears and thick wooden lathis in continuation of their campaign against Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament Ramji Lal Suman who had apparently offended them by insinuating collaboration between 16th century Rajput ruler Rana Sanga and the first Mughal emperor Babur.
Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged a direct link between the Karni Sena protests, which was attended by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including a union minister, and a legislator from the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh.
“This Sena belongs to the BJP,” said Yadav on Monday (April 14), after paying a tribute to B.R Ambedkar on his birth anniversary in Lucknow.
Karni Sena’s ‘Rakt Swabhimaan Sammelan’
Speaking in Parliament recently, Suman, a senior Dalit leader, had referred to Sanga’s invitation to Babur to India to fight against Lodi ruler Ibrahim Lodi. In protest, members of the Karni Sena on March 26, vandalised his residence and vehicles parked outside it in Agra.
On April 12, Karni Sena members and supporters organised a ‘Rakt Swabhimaan Sammelan’ in Agra on the birth anniversary of Rana Sanga in a show of strength and to demand action against Suman. Kshatriya caste leaders raised provocative slogans at the event while those attending it created a ruckus on the highway to Agra. This led to a traffic jam that lasted at least 30 minutes, said police.
Many Karni Sena activists were seen blocking vehicles and dancing on the road with swords and lathis in their hands.
The police said that those attending the rally went back to their sources after handing over a memorandum to the administration.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.