The Rajput Kshatriya community of Vadodara has now joined the bandwagon of communities demanding reservation, after the Patidar community of the state.
On Thursday, in a massive show of strength, the community held a public address in the Navlakhi compound with thousands of young community members participating. The community then took out a street rally with a beeline of motorcycles, defying the police trying to contain the groups in absence of a police permission for the same.
The Vadodara District Kshatriya Rajput community held a public rally in the Navlakhi compound, with thousands of community members chanting a resonating ‘Rajput Zindabad and Jai Bhavani’ slogans.
The groups were led from the front by the Vadodara District Kshatriya Rajput General Secretary Kamlesh Raulji and Akhil Bhartiya Jai Bhavani Sena President Ratanvijay Chauhan who questioned the denial of police permission in wake of permissions granted to “other communities” to take out rallies.
Speaking to the media, Raulji said, “The police is willing to give permissions to all other communities for organizing rallies, but when it comes to the Rajput community they are denying us our right to protest. If this is their attempt to thwart our right, then the upcoming election will give them the answer when the community comes out with all its might against the ruling forces.”
The message from the leaders at the public address was without mincing of words. “We are the community that ruled the country in our regions. We are the royal community of warriors that gave away our kingdoms and princely states to have a united country, at the insistence of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. However, today, we have nothing in our hands. Our rights and privileges have been taken away to reduce us to a poor community. We must get special privileges in the form of reservations too. We are warriors and we know to fight for it,” Raulji said.
Even as the police tried to contain the community in the Navlakhi compound by closing the gates, the community members used force to push the gates open and took out a rally towards the district collectorate. When interrupted, the bikers immediately diverted towards Kirti Stambh to complete one lap of the old city area.
Senior police officials said that appropriate action would be taken against those members of the Kshatriya Rajput community who overrode police orders as the event had been video graphed.
