Karni Sena threatens to chop off Rajasthan minister's nose and ears over remark
Jaipur, June 13: The Shree Rajput Karni Sena has threatened to chop off Rajasthan Education Minister Kiran Maheshwari's nose and ears for allegedly equating Rajputs with "rats".
The Rajput organisation has demanded an immediate apology in the case, even as the Minister said she was not referring to the community, while the Congress slammed her statements.
In a routine media briefing on Monday, Maheshwari, asked to respond to the fact that the Sarv Rajput Samaj Sangharsh Samiti had started a campaign against the BJP ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, said: "Aise bhi log hain jo barsati choohe (rats) hain, jo chunav aate hi bilon se nikal aatein hain (There are people like rainy rats who come out of their holes during election time)."
On Tuesday, the Karni Sena, at its meeting here, warned the minister to apologise or face dire consequences, adding that she should have remembered the Deepika Padukone incident during the "Padmaavat controversy" before making such remark.
"BJP has come strong in Rajasthan with the help of Rajput community. Maheshwari had won the last assembly elections with the help of these 'rats' and hence we will teach her a lesson in the coming elections.
"There are 40,000 Rajput voters in her constituency (Rajsamand). She should apologise immediately. Also, the state government should issue a statement," said Karni Sena's state chief Mahipal Makrana in a video which went viral soon.
He added that although they hold women in high regard, they will not tolerate women insulting the community.
However, Maheshwari denied using any offensive language against the Rajputs and sought to clarify that her statements against the Congress were twisted to incite the community.
Congress' Rajasthan chief Sachin Pilot also condemned the incident and said that Maheshwari should apologise to the entire Rajput community.
"The BJP party has been hurting the sentiments of common man, communities and political parties with their derogatory comments which is highly objectionable. The Education Minister should apologise to the Rajput community," he said.
Slamming Maheshwari, state Congress Vice President Archana Sharma said: "When the things aggravated and her comment drew flak from all parts of the state, Maheshwari changed her stand to come out clean and said that she was targetting Congress with her rat remark. This shows poor mentality of BJP which can come down to any level to prove themselves clean."
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3 tigers, leopard died of avian flu in Nagpur possibly after eating chicken: Forest Minister
Nagpur (PTI): Three tigers and a leopard that died of avian influenza at a rescue centre in Maharashtra's Nagpur district possibly contracted the infection after eating chicken, state Forest Minister Ganesh Naik said on Thursday.
It is, however, yet to be confirmed as the the lab test report has not been received so far, the minister told reporters in Nagpur ahead of his visit to Chandrapur.
Authorities at the zoos concerned have been directed to inspect the food before feeding the animals, he said, adding the facility affected by the incident has been asked to temporarily remain shut.
The three tigers and the leopard had been relocated to the Gorewada Rescue Centre here from Chandrapur following incidents of man-animal conflict.
The big cats died at the centre last month-end. Their samples were sent to Bhopal for testing, and the test reports on January 2 confirmed they were positive for the H5N1 virus, Gorewada project divisional manager Shatanik Bhagwat said on Monday.
The Centre has issued an advisory, directing zoos to take precautionary measures, he had said, adding the disinfection process was underway according to the central and state government guidelines.
Asked about the death of the four felines, Naik on Thursday said, "I have not yet received any report from the scientific lab, but as per preliminary information, there is a possibility that they got infected after eating chicken. However, it is not yet established whether this was the cause."
The minister said the forest authorities will be briefing him about the matter later in the day.
More information will be available after a detailed inquiry, he added.
