A video clip uploaded by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sanjeev Balyan has surfaced from a Parliament debate session where Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ramji Lal Suman made controversial statements. In the video, Suman asserts,
“The BJP says that Muslims have Babar’s DNA. But Muslims in India do not worship Babar; they hold personalities like Mohammed Sahab and Sufi saints in respect.”. It was Rana Sanga who invited Babar to India to depose Ibrahim Lodi. If Muslims are attributed to be the descendants of Babur, then descendants of Rana Sanga are a traitor as well—a title which we never place upon Rana Sanga like this.
This has evoked protests from the BJP members, who are demanding an apology by the Samajwadi Party. Balyan was infuriated on X and tweeted, “Shame on you for crossing all limits of appeasement. Insulting great warrior Rana Sanga as a traitor in Parliament is a great insult to our Rajput community and to Hindus in general. The SP must apologize to the entire nation for such an abject statement.”
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also condemned Suman’s remark, underlining the historical significance of Rana Sanga. “Those who read India’s history—today and for the next thousand years—will never equate Babar and Rana Sanga. Maharana Sanga had lit the fire of freedom and played a key role in the defence of Indian culture. Discussions which belittle such personalities have no place in serious discourse,” he added.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has condemned the SP of vote bank appeasement at the expense of Hindu sentiment. “Rana Sanga ji is a national hero—a Rajput warlord who fought Babur and the Mughals in his struggle against the invaders. But the SP calls him and Hindus ‘Gaddar’ and bows before Aurangzeb. Rajasthan, Rajputs, and Hindus will not forget this statement in a hurry. Will the Congress party denounce the statement?” posted Poonawalla on X.
Rana Sanga, a 16th-century king of Mewar in Rajasthan, was one of the strongest foes of the Mughal Empire of Babar. His memory still evokes strong feelings among the Rajputs and elsewhere.
