Clash outside Udaipur palace after Vishvaraj's succession fuels royal family feud

BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters were denied entry into City Palace, Udaipur, hours after he was anointed the titular head of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar on Monday.

The situation outside the palace was tense with a heavy deployment of police to prevent any untoward incident. Stones were reportedly pelted from inside the palace.

Vishvaraj Singh was anointed as the head of the erstwhile royal family in Chittorgarh fort on Monday morning, following the demise of his father Mahendra Singh Mewar earlier this month. However, a cloud of a feud between Mahendra Singh Mewar and his estranged younger brother Arvind Singh Mewar -- who are descendants of Rajput king Maharana Pratap -- hung over the occasion.

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Vishvaraj Singh's uncle Arvind Singh issued a public notice against the newly annointed royal family head's planned visit to the Eklingnath temple of the family deity and the City Palace in Udaipur as part of rituals of the royal ceremony. Both the temple and the palace are under the control of Arvind Singh who is the chairman and managing trustee of Shree Eklingji Trust in Udaipur.

Policemen were deployed outside the gates of the City Palace to maintain law and order after Arvind Singh's notices were issued in the morning.

His notices published in local newspapers warned of legal action for trespass or damage to the property.

After the ceremony in Chittorgarh fort, Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters reached Udaipur in the evening to visit the City Palace and the Eklingnathji temple but they could not enter due to heavy police deployment. Vishvaraj Singh's supporters tried to cross the barricading but the police stopped them.

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Senior police officials, Udaipur collector Arvind Poswal and SP Yogesh Goyal spoke to Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters and tried to resolve the issue. They also spoke to Arvind Singh's son but the talks remained inconclusive.

Given the tense situation, police have sent a report to the additional district magistrate to appoint a receiver for the area in the City Palace from Bali Pol to Dhuni. Vishvaraj Singh had planned to visit Dhuni for a darshan after his anointment.

After being denied entry, the Nathdwara MLA went to Jagdish Chowk with his supporters, barely a few metres away from the City Palace.

(With agency inputs)