Kshatriya Leader Quits Gujarat BJP Over Rupala's Remarks About Community

Leader of the Kshatriya caste Raj Shekhawat quit BJP on Saturday in protest over remarks made by Union Minister and Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate Parshottam Rupala about the community.

Ahmedabad:Kshatriya community leader Raj Shekhawat on Saturday resigned from the BJP in protest against Union Minister and Rajkot Lok Sabha candidate Parshottam Rupala's remarks earlier. Rupala, while speaking at a public event, had claimed several Rajput rulers collaborated with the British, a statement that drew widespread condemnation from community members.

Shekhawat is also national president of a faction of the Karni Sena, an outfit of the Rajput or Kshatriya community. He said he was resigning from the primary membership of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party with immediate effect. Shekhawat said he had joined the BJP ahead of the Assembly polls for "the welfare of the community and Sanatan Dharma".

Asserting that the community was being neglected by the BJP in ticket distribution, Shekhawat said, "The party leadership has not taken any action against him (Rupala). Therefore, I am resigning from the primary membership of the party." Community members also held protests in different parts of the state on Saturday over Rupala's remarks made at a public function in Rajkot, for which he has apologised.

On Friday, Rupala had apologised at a gathering of the community's leaders in Gondal town in Rajkot district. It was organised by influential Kshatriya leader and former BJP MLA Jayrajsinh Jadeja.