In an apparent show of strength, the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur took out a long march from the Walled City here on Thursday to protest against the recent sealing of land and entrance gate of the historic Rajmahal Palace owned by it. The Rajput groups, which joined the march, alleged that the State government had humiliated the former royals.
‘High-handedness’The participants in the march wound their way from City Palace to Rajmahal Palace at C-Scheme area, while titular queen mother Padmini Devi addressed them at Tripolia Gateon the way.
Ms. Devi alleged that the episode smacked of high-handedness of a government wing, the Jaipur Development Authority. Ms. Devi, 73, accompanied by titular Jaipur king Padmanabh Singh, travelled in an open jeepwith the marchers.
The first public show of protest by the former royal family had a political twist, as Ms. Devi’s daughter Diya Kumari is a ruling BJP MLA elected from Sawai Madhopur constituency.
When the march reached Rajmahal Palace after covering a distance of about six kilometres, some of the protesters attempted to jump over the police cordons and reach the palace gate to break its seal.
However, the queen mother stopped them, saying the former royals would take legal recourse in the matter.
