A day after property dispute within the erstwhile Mewar royal family escalated into stone pelting, its newly “anointed” head and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Nathdwara MLA Vishvaraj Singh Mewar visited the 8th Century Eklingji Temple in Udaipur’s Kailashpuri village – considered an important deity in the former princely state.
The visit by the BJP MLA keeps with the Mewar family custom of visiting deities after anointment and comes two days after he was prevented from entering the family’s Udaipur City Palace amid an ongoing property dispute with his uncle Arvind Singh Mewar, who currently has control of the palace and its grounds.
Significantly, Vishvaraj Singh “anointment” as head of the Mewar family came after the death of his father, former Chittorgarh MP Mahendra Singh Mewar. According to sources, family custom dictates that the “head” visit the Dhuni Mata temple located on the palace grounds and eventually visit the Eklingji temple to mark the “Shok Bhang Rasam”, or the end of the mourning period.
Heavy police deployment in the area prevented Vishvaraj Singh from visiting the temple Monday, leading to violence and stone pelting and prompting the police to send reinforcements, seal off the area and prohibit assembly under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita.
The security arrangements continued to remain in place Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the two families have blamed the incident on each other. At a press conference he held Tuesday, Arvind Singh’s son Lakshyaraj Singh accused his cousin Vishvaraj of “hooliganism” and “forcing his way into his house”, claiming that the entire dispute was “happening at the behest of powerful people sitting in the government”.
Vishvaraj, meanwhile, claims it was his “right” to visit the temple. At his own press briefing the same day, he accused the district administration of “failing to perform its duties”.
“It is my right to visit the temple of my ancestors, but I was denied entry to the palace. I sought support from the district administration, but they did nothing. Even when stones were pelted from the other side, no action was taken. The administration claimed they lacked sufficient force to open the palace gates,” he said.
In response to the violence, the district administration claimed it had taken control of the palace temple and appointed a receiver to manage it.
“Efforts are ongoing to mediate between both parties. The police are also actively ensuring the situation remains under control,” District Collector Arvind Poswal had said Tuesday.
Ghanta Ghar SHO Yogendra Kumar, appointed receiver for the temple, told The Indian Express that there were no arrests in Monday’s clashes and that the police was only trying to prevent further escalation.
“The temple is currently under our (police) control and we’re awaiting orders from the senior officials,” he said.