[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A day before the Republic Day, when 10 heads of states of ASEAN countries are here as chief guests, the nation woke up to continued violent protests and threats to set the nation on fire from Rajputs protesting screening of the movie ‘Padmaavat’, even as their outfit, Sree Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) claimed loyalty to the country.

The SRKS has, however, been clear that it would not obey the orders of the nation’s top court set up under the country’s Constitution. The Supreme Court had dismissed all appeals seeking a ban on the film, including those by state governments of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The SC is also expected to hear a contempt plea against Karni Sena on Monday and Delhi HC has refused to hear a plea against the film.

The Rajputs under SRKS object to ‘distortion of history’ and ‘denigration of Rani Padmini’ in the film based on a fictional work that extols Rajput valour and is a paean to Padmini’s beauty.

Persisting with their protests in the face all facts and reason and in complete disregard of the country’s image, the law and Supreme Court orders, the Rajput groups continued with violence and vandalism.

A rampaging mob of alleged Karni Sena members on Wednesday attacked a school bus with 24 students of GD Goenka World School in Gurugram, a day before the film’s release. The attackers came with bamboos and sticks, hitting the rear window and asked the driver to stop the vehicle. The driver, however, showed the presence of mind to keep the bus moving. The mob then pelted stones. The terrified, screaming kids got under their seats to escape being hurt.

An FIR registered into Wednesday’s attack on a school bus in Gurugram names the Karni Sena. Eighteen men, who attacked a school bus full of children in Gurugram, have now been sent to a 14-day judicial custody.

After the incident, some reputed schools in Gurgaon have decided to remain shut till Sunday in view of the violence over the controversial film’s release. The schools which have decided to shut down till Sunday includes Pathways school, GD Goenka school, Shiv Nadar school and Delhi Public School, said media reports.

The incident came about an hour after alleged members of the Karni Sena, a Rajput group, targeted a Haryana Roadways bus and torched it. Similar incidents were reported from many other states, all with BJP governments, according to media reports.

Protesters also allegedly damaged two state roadways buses in Jaipur and blocked a road in the city while scores of activists were held in Mumbai and Nashik.

In MP’s Ratlam, 27 female members of Karni Sena submitted letters to the district administration urging President Ram Nath Kovind to stop the film or permit them to end their lives.

A theatre was vandalised in Jammu while there were protests in Gorakhpur as well.

Violent protests by Shree Rajput Karni Sena and other Rajput organisations against Padmaavat continued in Bihar on Thursday, with a mob attacking a cinema hall in Bihar Sharif while cinema hall owners in several districts refused to screen the controversial film, said media reports.

Unconfirmed reports said that Karni Sena activists have attacked more than half a dozen cinema halls across Bihar.

State governments and cinema owners are also fearful of more violent acts in the future and hence, are calling off the scheduled screenings of the film.

An RSS official alleged that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat is an attempt to “hurt” public sentiments by presenting heroic characters and their lives on the basis of unconfirmed and controversial information. RSS north-west regional sanghchalak Bhagwati Prakash said that films should spread the message of social harmony and brotherhood, reported News18.

As violent protests occurring in states with BJP government, the party’s troll brigade went into offensive, accusing others of the mistakes and shortcomings it committed. It went overboard, with one posting from the twitter handle of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

Incidentally, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had already, the previous day, on January 24, condemned the attack on children.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Delhi said it was a “matter of shame” for the nation that school children were attacked just a few kilometres from the national capital before Republic Day celebrations.

Kejriwal hinted at BJP and Sangh parivar links in his condemnation of the Rajput violence:“I appeal to everyone. We cannot afford to remain silent anymore. They killed Muslims, burnt Dalits alive, thrashed them. Today, they have started pelting our children with stones, have started intruding into our homes. Don’t remain silent now, speak up,” Kejriwal said in a speech during an event to mark Republic Day tomorrow.

The Congress attacked the Centre and the BJP governments in Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh for the violent protests against Padmaavat. “Why is the Centre not doing anything to stop this violence. The BJP must answer to the people. The governments must be ashamed for their inaction,” said Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]