Mihir Bhoj caste row: UP CM Adityanath's name on plaque smeared with black paint, probe on

Tension prevailed in Greater Noida on Tuesday after the name of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was allegedly smeared with black paint on a plaque fixed below a statue of King Mihir Bhoj that he had unveiled last week.

Besides Adityanath, the names of Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Singh Nagar and Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, both from the BJP, were also smeared with black paint on the plaque, according to purported visuals that surfaced on social media.

Police have launched an investigation into the act which has been allegedly committed by some members of the Gurjar community, who have been at loggerhead with the Rajput community, with both claiming that the ninth-century king belonged to their caste, officials said.

The chief minister had unveiled the 15-foot-tall statue of the king in Greater Noida's Dadri area in Gautam Buddh Nagar district on September 22.

A conflict had ensued over addition of prefix “Gurjar” to the name of King Mihir Bhoj on the plaque.

Prior to the event also, tension had been brewing in the region due to the conflict between the two dominant Rajput and Gurjar communities over the issue while CM Adityanath had remarked that “great icons cannot be confined to one caste, they belong to everyone” after unveiling the statue.

The smearing of black paint over the names on the plaque allegedly took place after Rajya Sabha MP Surendra Singh Nagar visited the statue and paid tributes to King Mihir Bhoj on Tuesday morning.

“Satyamev Jayate,” Nagar, a Gurjar leader, captioned a picture of him standing next to the statue in a Twitter post in the morning.

Meanwhile, an official said the local Dadri police have been instructed to lodge an FIR into Tuesday's incident and take action against the culprits. 

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