Now saffron flag hoisted on Bhil hero statue in Udaipur

Ground Report | New Delhi: Now saffron flag hoisted on Bhil hero Following a dispute between members of the Meena community and Hindu groups around Jaipur's Amagarh Fort, where the saffron flag was hoisted on July 21, a similar flag was hoisted on a statue of a historical figure in Udaipur district. Meena is at the center of a conflict between the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community and Hindutva organizations supported by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and vocal support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Now saffron flag hoisted on Bhil hero statue

According to the report of Indian Express, the police have registered an FIR after the flag was found on the statue of Rana Punja Bhil, an aide of Maharana Pratap. While tribal groups have accused the BJP and the RSS of hoisting the flag, BJP leaders have denied any role of the party or the Sangh.

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“We had gathered near the statue of Rana Punja Bhil on Monday to celebrate World Tribal Day. People of BJP and Sangh Parivar hoisted the saffron flag. We said that they should not use the saffron flag but the flag of the tribals. This resulted in a dispute and they attacked us,” said Suresh Meena, Udaipur secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Mahasabha.

He alleged that he and two others from the Mahasabha were attacked by those who had raised the flag and the attackers were armed with weapons like axes.

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Opposition to Hindu groups

“The people of BJP and RSS forcefully planted the flag of an organization (Jai Mewar) on the statue of Bhilu Rana Punja, going against the culture and identity of the tribals. The religious sentiments of the tribal community have been hurt,” said the FIR registered under IPC sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 143 (unlawful assembly).

Former BJP councillor and one of the accused in the FIR, Bheru Lal Meena said that the allegations of attack on the people of Adivasi Mahasabha are false and baseless. He also claimed that the flag put up by him was not a "saffron" flag. “It was a saffron flag, the watchful eye of Maharana Pratap.

Ramkesh Meena, who is leading the Meena community's opposition to Hindu groups in the Amagarh dispute and claims that tribals are not Hindus, demanded strict action against the BJP and the RSS over the Udaipur case.

“An FIR has been registered and investigation is on. No arrest has been made so far,” said Nana Lal, assistant sub-inspector, Hiranmagiri police station, Udaipur and the investigating officer in the case.

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