Newsmaker | Arrested for slapping a bureaucrat, who is Rajasthan’s ‘Chhota Kirodi’ Naresh Meena?

The visuals led to an uproar, including from Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) officers. But for Meena, who has had astir 2 twelve constabulary cases, this was thing new. Since 2002, erstwhile the archetypal constabulary lawsuit was lodged against him, Meena has had rather a fewer cases filed against him for “assault oregon transgression unit to deter a nationalist servant from discharge of his authoritative duty.” Other charges against him see blocking highways and railway tracks, assault, harm to nationalist property, inciteful speeches, and injuring constabulary officials.

Meena was calved into a governmental household successful Nayagaon colony of Baran district’s Atru tehsil. His begetter Kalyan Singh was a sarpanch for astir 3 decades, portion his parent is presently a sarpanch. Meena’s woman Sunita is simply a Zila Parishad subordinate and his younger brother’s woman is simply a Panchayat Samiti member.

Meena started retired successful pupil politics, becoming the wide caput of Rajasthan University’s pupil national successful the aboriginal 2000s arsenic a campaigner of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the Congress’s pupil wing. Over the years, Meena’s proximity to elder Congress person Sachin Pilot grew and helium was seen arsenic a Pilot campy person portion besides idolising the BJP’s Kirodi Lal Meena, a authorities Cabinet minister. Both Pilot and Kirodi Lal clasp sizeable power successful eastbound Rajasthan.

Whether it is the Congress oregon the section administration, Meena has built a estimation of having a rebellious benignant reminiscent of Kirodi Lal, who is known arsenic a rebel wrong the BJP and adjacent the authorities – embarrassing it connected a fewer occasions. Kirodi Lal did not hesitate to explicit himself publically and often sat connected protests nether the erstwhile Congress government.

Naresh Meena’s akin antics person earned him the sobriquet “Chhota Kirodi”. In 2017, helium is said to person chopped his thumb and applied a tilak connected Kirodi’s forehead with his blood. However, the elder Meena hasn’t needfully reciprocated Naresh’s overtures, possibly owed to antithetic governmental ideologies and to forestall Naresh from gaining governmental capital, particularly wrong the Meena community.

In September 2020, Naresh, who had tested affirmative for Covid-19, was arrested by the Baran constabulary portion helium was protesting against amerciable mining – embarrassing the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress authorities – extracurricular a constabulary station. After the latest incidental too, Gehlot attacked the Bhajan Lal Sharma-led BJP authorities arsenic good arsenic Pilot – the second indirectly – implicit Meena’s slap, saying, “What is the mystery? We don’t know. Who incited him (to contest), who didn’t halt him from contesting? If helium wasn’t contesting, past it was surely our seat.”

In Pilot’s discourse too, Meena hasn’t had overmuch luck successful presumption of tickets. Despite having built a sizeable enactment basal successful the past 2 decades, helium has been overlooked by the Congress during elections, starring him to rebel.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress chose Karan Singh implicit Meena from Chhabra. Meena, contesting arsenic an Independent, polled adjacent to 44,000 votes, portion Singh mislaid to the BJP’s Pratap Singh Singhvi by 5,100 votes. The Congress past expelled him for six years.

He was brought backmost into the enactment this March up of the Lok Sabha elections. However, days later, helium embarrassed Murari Lal Meena who was declared arsenic the Congress campaigner from Dausa.

At a rally for Murari, Naresh Meena said helium was asked to articulation the enactment aft being promised a ticket, but the enactment alternatively fielded Murari. He said that if Murari became the MP and his girl Niharika an MLA, what would hap to radical similar him. He asked Murari to retreat and backmost him instead. He past filed his candidature arsenic an Independent but the enactment convinced him to withdraw.

Once again, successful the bypoll for Deoli-Uniara, Meena was overlooked, prompting him to contention arsenic an Independent. Moving slowly, the party’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa issued Meena’s suspension bid connected November 7, a week aft the past day for withdrawing nominations, which was October 30, and conscionable six days earlier voting connected November 13.

Naresh Meena’s antics whitethorn person won him immoderate supporters – and detractors – but the slapping incidental happened overmuch aboriginal connected polling time and whitethorn not person a batch of bearing connected the result, which volition beryllium retired connected November 23. Either way, helium volition inactive beryllium successful judicial custody erstwhile the results are declared.