Facing backlash for his remarks on Maharana Pratap, Rajasthan BJP leader tenders apology

UDAIPUR: Rajasthan's Leader of Opposition Gulabchand Kataria on Tuesday tendered an apology after his controversial remarks on famous warrior king Maharana Pratap triggered outrage among Rajputs in the state.

Kataria tendered the apology saying his selection of words for the Mewar king famous was not right and he was sorry for that.

"Our ancestors fought for 100 years. The most recent example is Maharana Pratap.

"Had dogs been him that he left his kingdom and fort to wander in jungles? Who had he done it for?" Kataria had asked in Hindi while addressing a public gathering in the Rajsamand constituency on Sunday.

The remarks outraged the people from the community with Udaipur's royal family scion Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar asking "how can the dignity of language be forgotten for Maharana Pratap whose name is synonymous with the valour and struggle".

In a message on his Facebook page, Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, also a descendant of Maharana Pratap, also said "the sense of choosing words should not be lost".

Known for his valour, Maharana Pratap (1540-1597) was the king of Mewar, the present-day Udaipur region.

Kataria was also criticised and targeted on social media.

Reacting sharply to the comment, Rajput youths defaced Kataria's posters outside the BJP headquarters in Jaipur here with ink and protested against him.

They demanded from the BJP to sack him from the post of leader of the opposition.

After the escalation of backlash, Kataria tendered an apology.

Also saying that he felt sorry for hurting the sentiments of people.

He released a video saying his sentiment for Maharana Pratap was not wrong but he used wrong words.

"I respect Maharana Pratap. If anyone is hurt by my statement, I apologise," he said.