An year on, the ghost of Anandpal Singh haunts BJP

The ghost of Anand Pal Singh is all set to rise again on his first death anniversary, much to the discomfiture of ruling BJP. On June 24, Ravna Rajput community has planned large scale blood donation camps not just in Rajasthan but also in Gujarat and Maharashtra where they are in sizeable numbers. The events are aimed at giving the community an opportunity to flex its muscles to gain political mileage.

The camps would be held in Bhilwara, Pali, Jalore, Jaisalmer among others. In Nagaur, home district of Anand Pal Singh, 2 camps would be held at Didwana and Makrana and the target is to collect 11,000 units of blood and make a record. However, there would no such event in Churu where the dreaded gangster was killed in an encounter by state police. Incidentally, the CBI is presently camping in Churu to investigate the encounter.

“Our community is upset with the present leadership of BJP and Rajput MLAs. BJP faced consequences of our ire in bypolls and we will do so again in assembly polls. Only one out of our 11-point charter of demands has been accepted by including Major Dalpat Singh in the school syllabus. All others have been forgotten. Even cases have not been withdrawn against our youth,” said Ranjit Singh, state president of Akhil Ravna Rajput Seva Sansthan. “After these camps, we will organise a large caste panchayat in the end of September and spell out our political demands,” added Singh.

The Rajput and Ravna Rajput community continue to be upset with BJP government over the encounter and have termed it as fake. While the BJP has been unable to contain their anger, the events on death anniversary of the slain gangster have all potential to rake up wounds and inflict further political damage to BJP.