The Rajput community outfits have called for a bandh in Jaipur on Wednesday to protest against the murder of Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena national president Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi.
Gogamedi was shot dead by three armed men in his house in Jaipur on Tuesday, sending shock waves across Rajasthan. One of the assailants was gunned down by Gogamedi's security guard in retaliatory fire.
The community has also demanded a judicial probe into the matter and threatened a statewide shutdown if action is not taken on the matter.
Outgoing chief minister Ashok Gehlot was quick to condemn the murder in a post on X. "The murder of Shri Sukhdev Singh Gogamedi is very sad. I pray to God to give peace to the departed soul and strength to his family to bear this loss."
However, the BJP alleged that the outgoing Congress government had denied police protection to Gogamedi. "The incident is unfortunate. A national-level social worker who sought protection from the police but did not get it and was killed by gangsters. This is a stain on the outgoing government of Rajasthan," said BJP leader Rajendra Rathore.
Rajasthan BJP chief C P Joshi said Gogamedi had been asking the administration to increase his security for a long time but his request was not granted. "What were the reasons for not providing security is a matter of investigation. Criminals who create anarchy need to be arrested immediately," he said.
Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat too slammed the Gehlot regime in Rajasthan, saying this is the adverse effect of the way "gang wars have flourished" in the desert state since the time of the Ashok Gehlot government. "Due to the threats that Karni Sena president late Sukhdev Singhji had received, he had filed a police complaint and also warned the administration about it. But unfortunately, security was not provided at the level at which it should have been provided," he told PTI at the Parliament complex here.
Senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje termed Gogamedi's murder highly condemnable and unfortunate.
The Congress pinned the blame on the BJP, stating this was the beginning of the BJP rule. "This incident is sad and unfortunate. I strongly condemn it but if this is the beginning of BJP then what will happen next," Congress leader Pramod Tiwari told reporters.
Congress leader Rajeev Shukla pointed out that the Karni Sena president was killed only days after his party was voted out of power in Rajasthan. "They (BJP) created a huge ruckus over the issue, you know which one, during the polls. What is their reply on this? The killing of the Karni Sena president is wrong. Justice was being done under the Gehlot government and as soon as it left, the problem has started," Shukla said.
