Vishvaraj Singh Mewar visits Udaipur City Palace as royal family feud ends

Vishvaraj Singh speaks with officals after he was denied entry into Udaipur Palace, hours after he was anointed the titular head of the erstwhile royal family of Mewar, in Udaipur
| Photo Credit: PTI

The deadlock over the entry of Vishvaraj Singh Mewar, who was recently anointed as the titular head of the erstwhile Royal family of Mewar, to the Udaipur City Palace ended on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) evening with Mr. Vishvaraj completing his father’s mourning rituals at the Eklingnathji temple near Udaipur and ‘dhuni’ in the City Palace.

Mr. Vishvaraj, a BJP MLA, first visited the temple and later went to the City Palace where he was denied entry on Monday, triggering violent clashes outside the palace under the control of his uncle Arvind Singh Mewar.

After his visit to the City Palace, Mr. Vishvaraj and Mr. Arvind’s son Lakshayraj Singh separately thanked the government and the administration for facilitating the peaceful visit.

Mr. Vishvaraj visited the temple located on Nathdwara road on Wednesday afternoon to complete the rituals marking the end of the mourning period that started with his father Mahendra Singh Mewar’s demise on November 10.

In the evening, the deadlock over his visit to ‘dhuni’ (sacred fire) in the City Palace ended with five people, including Mr. Vishvaraj, entering the palace for ‘darshan’ under tight security.

Mr. Vishvaraj later told reporters that things went off smoothly following the administration’s proactive approach. He also thanked people for supporting him.

Mr. Lakshyaraj also held a press conference on Wednesday evening where he said a consensus was reached with the active involvement of the government and the administration which facilitated the visit in a well arranged manner.

Without naming Mr. Vishvaraj, Mr. Lakshayraj said he was opposed to his visit to the City Palace with hundreds of people as a “show of strength”.

He said the visit on Wednesday happened with decency which could have taken place earlier if not for the “arrogance” of someone.

There was a deadlock over Mr. Vishvaraj’s visit to the palace controlled by his uncle Mr. Arvind, whose lawyer, through public notices published in newspapers, warned of legal action in the event of a trespass.

Mr. Arvind, the younger brother of Mahendra Singh Mewar, is the chairman and managing trustee of the trust that controls the City Palace.

The notices said the Shree Eklingji Trust decided to give entry to the temple on November 25 to only those authorised by it. After the notices surfaced, police were deployed at the entry gate of the palace.

On Monday, Mr. Vishvaraj was anointed as the titular head of the erstwhile Mewar Royal family at a ceremony in the Chittorgarh fort following the death of his father. After the coronation ceremony, Mr. Vishvaraj along with a large number of people were denied entry to the City Palace, which led to violent clashes.

The stalemate continued on Tuesday with Mr. Vishvaraj and Mr. Lakshyaraj targeting each other without taking names.

Mr. Lakshyaraj told the media on Tuesday night that endangering the lives of people in the name of ritual was not right.

He also alleged that some people holding government positions were mounting pressure on the administration for their vested interest, trying to forcefully enter his house.

Mr. Lakshyaraj suggested that if someone wants to seek entry (to the palace), he should go to the court. However, he also said that the Eklingnathji temple is open to the public and anyone can go there.

A consensus was reached on Wednesday evening following which it was decided that five persons will be allowed for ‘darshan’ at the ‘dhuni’, Collector Arvind Poswal said.

Accordingly, Mr. Vishvaraj and four other persons entered the palace after some time.

Earlier, Mr. Vishvaraj told reporters that he was happy that he could have ‘darshan’ at the Eklingnathji temple, where the priest gave him a red turban which he replaced with a white one, symbolising the end of the mourning period.

Additional security arrangements were made at the temple to ensure that the visit could be completed without any trouble.

Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS (formerly Section 144 of CrPC) were imposed in areas around the City Palace to maintain law and order.