‘Royal’ clash in Udaipur after BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh denied entry into City Palace

The tensions erupted after Arvind Singh blocked Vishvaraj Singh's entry to the temple and palace as part of his coronation rituals.

BJP MLA Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters were denied entry into the City Palace in Udaipur on Monday, just hours after he was officially crowned as the 77th Maharana of the former royal family of Mewar, sparking a clash in the Rajasthan city.

Clashes occurred after Vishvaraj Singh was denied entry into the City Palace in Udaipur(Vishvaraj Singh/X)

Tensions outside the palace escalated with a heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward incidents. Reports indicated that stones were thrown from inside the palace.

Vishvaraj Singh had been crowned as the head of the erstwhile royal family at Chittorgarh Fort on Monday morning, following the death of his father, Mahendra Singh Mewar, earlier this month.

However, the ceremony was disrupted due to a long-standing feud between Mahendra Singh Mewar and his estranged younger brother, Arvind Singh Mewar, who controls both the City Palace and the Eklingnath temple.

Arvind Singh, who is the chairman and managing trustee of the Shree Eklingji Trust, issued two public notices in the local newspaper warning that legal action would be taken against anyone trespassing or damaging property, essentially blocking Vishvaraj Singh's entry to the temple and palace as part of his coronation rituals.

Anticipating unrest, police forces were stationed outside the City Palace gates after the notices were issued.

Following the ceremony at Chittorgarh, Vishvaraj Singh and his supporters arrived in Udaipur in the evening to visit the City Palace and Eklingnathji temple but were blocked from entering by the police leading to clashes.

Senior police officials, including Udaipur District Collector Arvind Poswal and SP Yogesh Goyal, had tried to resolve the issue by speaking with Vishvaraj Singh and Arvind Singh's son but to no avail.

District Collector Arvind Kumar Poswal told the media, "The law and order situation is well under control. Talks were going on with palace representatives as well as the society representatives. We have agreed on certain issues, while talks are still going on for certain others."

District Collector Poswal also mentioned that the district administration has taken the disputed Dhuni Mata Temple site into receivership, after Vishvaraj Singh planned to visit it after his coronation.

"If either of the two groups wants to register a case, it will be registered," he added.

With inputs from PTI, ANI