Rajasthan: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, others detained while trying to enter violence-hit Karauli

🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️

After being stopped, the duo and their supporters sat on protest at the border before the police dispersed them with force and detained Surya, Poonia and other BJP workers.

Karauli Superintendent of Police Shailendra Singh told The Indian Express that the BJP members “were dispersed under CrPC section 129 (dispersal of assembly by use of civil force)”. They were released later.

Surya, also the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha national president, arrived in Jaipur early Wednesday morning. He told journalists: “We had heard about (former Bihar CM) Lalu Prasad’s ‘jungle raj’ but today, we are witnessing (CM) Ashok Gehlot’s jungle raj. The BJP and the BJYM will continuously oppose this.”

He accused Gehlot of indulging in “politics of appeasement” and said that “the condition of the victims of Karauli violence is very bad.”

Surya also met a person injured in the Karauli violence who is undergoing treatment at the SMS hospital in Jaipur.

Communal clashes erupted in Karauli following alleged stone-pelting at a motorcycle rally passing through a Muslim-dominated area on Nav Samvatsar (Hindu New Year) on April 2, leading to arson.

After the violence, the city continues to be under curfew. As per the orders of District Magistrate Rajendra Singh, the restrictions will be in place at least till 7 am on Thursday.

So far, at least three delegations have been permitted in the curfewed area — two of the BJP and one of the Congress.

Communal clashes erupted in Karauli following the alleged stone-pelting at a motorcycle rally passing through a Muslim-dominated area on Nav Samvatsar (Hindu new year) on April 2.

On Tuesday, former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje of the BJP was allowed to visit shops burnt in the violence and meet some of the injured and families of those arrested by police.

Before that, the Congress sent a three-member “fact-finding” committee of MLAs Jitendra Singh, Rafeek Khan and Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Lalit Yadav to the area on April 5. The same day, a BJP delegation, led by Deputy Leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore, also visited the spot.

The communal clash led to arson of shops and vehicles.

Asked about other delegations being permitted to go to Karauli, SP Shailendra Singh said, “The other delegations had taken permission from the district administration. Also, there were only a few members in each of those delegations.”

“Curfew is in place under CrPC section 144 and five or more people are not allowed anyway, while they (BJP members) were about 250-300 people, and were planning to go in their cars,” Singh said.