Clashes At Udaipur Palace Gates Over New Maharana’s Face-Off With Cousin
Udaipur witnessed a row in the erstwhile royal family today after the coronation of BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar as the 77th Maharana of Mewar. A stand-off with his cousin Dr Lakshay Raj Singh Mewar followed at the gates of the historic city palace, after Mr Singh was refused entry into the palace, which is now run by a trust managed by his cousin and uncle Shreeji Arvind Singh Mewar. The row it sparked escalated as the day progressed. Post-10 pm, the MLA’s supporters started throwing stones and attempted to storm the palace gates. Others are retaliating from inside the palace. Hectic visuals from palace gates shows stones landing from both sides, The police are trying to control the mob.
Vishvaraj Singh — the BJP MLA from Rajsamand from where his wife Mahima Kumari is the sitting MP — was formally declared the heir to the Mewar dynasty at a traditional coronation ceremony in the historic Chittorgarh fort 12 days after the death of his father Mahendra Singh Mewar.
The coronation ceremony, conducted by priests who performed pujas and did a havan, saw Vishwaraj’s raj tilak done by an erstwhile noble who slashed his finger on a sword and anointed him in blood. This is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years in the Mewar dynasty, which traces its lineage back to Bappa Rawal in the 8th Century. Its most famous royal was Rana Pratap, who fought the Mughals in the battle of Haldi Ghati.
After the symbolic coronation, Mr Singh had decided to take the blessings from family deities — the Dhooni mata temple inside the city palace and the Ekling Shiv temple about 50 kilometres from Udaipur. But since both temples are run by the trust, he was denied entry into the city palace. The administration had tried to persuade the Museum Trust to allow not the entire procession, but a few erstwhile nobles to accompany Vishwaraj Singh into the palace for darshan.
Anticipating trouble, the police had set up barricades and deployed additional personnel in the area around the city palace gates. But when Mr Singh was denied entry into the palace, his enraged supporters broke barricades and tried to get close to the city palace gates.
“The situation that we see today is unfortunate,” Vishvaraj Singh told media persons. “I am grateful for your support. On one side is properties, but there are also traditions where we seek blessings. T