Withdraw Parshottam Rupala's candidature or face nationwide protests: Rajput leaders tell BJP
Parshottam Rupala escalated on Wednesday with Rajput leaders rejecting BJP's bid to patch up and threatening to launch nationwide protests if the saffron party fails to withdraw his candidature from Gujarat. A crucial meeting between the ruling BJP and Kshatriya (Rajput) leaders failed to achieve any breakthrough as the community representatives remained firm on their demand.
«Even though Rupala has tendered his apology at least four times, the community leaders said their only demand was to make him withdraw from the poll fray,» senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, who attended the meeting, told reporters.
Rupala, the BJP candidate from Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency, had triggered a row by claiming that erstwhile 'maharajas' succumbed to the persecution by foreign rulers and Britishers and even married off their daughters to them.
The Kshatriya community in Gujarat strongly objected to Rupala's remarks as the majority of the erstwhile royals were Rajputs.
«All the Rajput leaders told us they will not settle for anything less than the removal of Rupala from Rajkot seat. Though we have urged them to reconsider their demand and forgive Rupala because he has already apologised, the community leaders rejected our request in one voice. They were not ready to accept our request for forgiveness» said Chudasama.
He said the BJP would take a decision in this regard.
The BJP delegation at the meeting was led by Chudasama and also included party leaders Balvantsinh Rajput, Hakubha Jadeja, Pradipsinh Jadeja,
