The Indian Panorama

Tag: Vasundhara Raje

  • RANA New York President Prem Bhandari terms Marriott Jaisalmer’ unethical conduct a setback to Association’s Efforts to Promote Rajasthan Tourism

    Demands Investigation into the hotel’s operations for irregularities

    President, RANA, New York

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA) New York has declared 2025 as the International Tourism Year to prom ote Rajasthan as a global travel destination. Even without this initiative, RANA New York remains the most influential and largest organization of Rajasthanis outside Rajasthan, consistently working for the state’s welfare and promotion. Over the past 25 years, RANA has been actively advocating for tourism in Rajasthan. The organization has also successfully hosted four international conventions attended by former Chief Ministers Ashok Gehlot (twice, along with his cabinet ministers and senior bureaucrats) and Vasundhara Raje (with her cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats).

    As part of its ongoing tourism promotion efforts, RANA President Prem Bhandari advised a Florida-based Indian American family of Rajasthan origin in November 2024 on the best places to visit in Rajasthan. Following this guidance, the family, along with relatives from India, booked their stay in Jaisalmer and purchased air tickets well in advance.

    The family arrived in India on March 7, 2025. On the same day, they received an email from Marriott Jaisalmer stating that due to a high-level central government meeting, they would need to relocate some guests to other hotels. This sudden notice caused significant distress to the family. Nonetheless, they proceeded with their journey and reached Jaisalmer on March 8, with some members scheduled to join the next day.

    Upon arrival, the hotel began exerting pressure on the family to shift to another hotel—one where room prices in November 2024 had been half of what they had paid for their Marriott booking. This unexpected situation put the Florida family and their extended relatives under severe stress.

    Early in the morning, the distressed family contacted Prem Bhandari, who immediately intervened by reaching out to the hotel’s General Manager (GM) to express his strong disapproval. Several WhatsApp exchanges followed between Bhandari and the GM, but the tension persisted. Eventually, after Bhandari’s intervention, the GM agreed to honor the original booking and assured that the family, along with other incoming guests, would not be relocated.

    As news of this incident spread among RANA members in New York, they urged Bhandari to investigate the supposed high-level central government meeting that Marriott had cited as the reason for the relocation. To Bhandari’s shock and disbelief, no such meeting was scheduled. Instead, the hotel had fabricated the story to accommodate a corporate conference for Pfizer, a U.S.-based pharmaceutical giant, which promised greater profits for the hotel.

    Bhandari strongly condemned this unethical behavior, emphasizing that such deceitful practices severely damage Rajasthan’s global reputation as a premier tourism destination. He reaffirmed RANA’s commitment to promoting tourism in Rajasthan with integrity and ensuring that such incidents do not tarnish the state’s hospitality image.

    In a statement released to The Indian Panorama, Mr. Bhandari, in his capacity as the President, Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA), has demanded from the relevant government of India agencies to “investigate the hotel’s operations for any other potential irregularities”, and ensure that tourists from abroad get a fair deal.
    “As the President of the Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA), I was surprised when Marriott Jaisalmer failed to provide any proof of the central government meeting they had cited in their email. Upon further inquiry, I discovered that the claim was fabricated to accommodate a private conference for a U.S.-based company, Pfizer, and maximize their profits.

    This blatant misrepresentation is not only unethical but also deceptive to guests and stakeholders. We will escalate this matter to Marriott’s corporate leadership, urging them to take strict action, including the possible cancellation of the hotel’s franchise. Simultaneously, we will request the relevant Indian government agencies to investigate the hotel’s operations for any other potential irregularities.”

  • Milk vendor, sarpanch, rebel: Bhajan Lal Sharma takes the helm as Rajasthan CM

    Milk vendor, sarpanch, rebel: Bhajan Lal Sharma takes the helm as Rajasthan CM

    A viral video on social media shows Vasundhara Raje, former BJP chief minister of Rajasthan, at a party legislature meeting in Jaipur. Sitting next to union minister Rajnath Singh, the party observer for Rajasthan, she opens a slip of paper that he hands to her.
    Raje looks taken aback by its contents — the script of which was written in Delhi. That piece of paper allegedly had the name of Rajasthan’s new CM, Bhajan Lal Sharma, announced by the party on December 12. Raje proposed his name at this meeting, and then accompanied Sharma and other senior leaders to meet governor Kalraj Mishra and stake claim to form the government.
    Sharma, 56, is a first-time MLA who won from Sanganer constituency in Jaipur by 48,081 votes. He’s the second Brahmin CM in Rajasthan in 33 years after Congress’s Haridev Joshi. He will have two deputies – Diya Kumar, a Rajput, and Prerchand Bairwa, a Dalit – while Vasudev Devnani will be speaker.
    Before his candidature from Sanganer, Sharma was a familiar face at press conferences, often introducing speakers or checking arrangements. Chosen as the state BJP’s general secretary for the fourth time before the assembly polls, he would hold meetings across the state, and also oversaw arrangements of public meetings for Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    Before his candidature from Sanganer, Sharma was a familiar face at press conferences, often introducing speakers or checking arrangements. Chosen as the state BJP’s general secretary for the fourth time before the assembly polls, he would hold meetings across the state, and also oversaw arrangements of public meetings for Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    Milkman to sarpanch
    Born in Atari village in Bharatpur district, Sharma is described as a “simple and righteous” man by friends and party colleagues. He’s the only son and his father, Kishan Swaroop Sharma, is a farmer who owns 25 bighas of land in Atari.
    A day before counting of votes, Sharma visited Atari and sought blessings from elders, said Om Prakash Jatav, a farmer in the village.
    Sharma’s schooling took place in Atari and Gangwana villages and Nanbai tehsil, all in Bharatpur. A note shared by the BJP with journalists said, “After completing his primary education in Atari, he came to Nadbai for secondary education and got in touch with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.” The ABVP is the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
    Schooling done, Sharma enrolled in MSJ College in Bharatpur and graduated in 1989. He was already a BJP member at this point – according to Rakesh Sharma, president of Nanbai BJP (rural), he and Bhajan Lal had joined the party in 1984.
    The family depended on agriculture and milk for their livelihood. After Bhajan Lal finished college, he helped out.
    “He would collect milk from his village and sell it to a dairy in Bharatpur,” said his uncle Maniram Sharma, a retired teacher in Atari. “This continued for seven or eight years until he was given bigger responsibilities by the BJP.”
    In 1990, Bhajan Lal took part in a “Kashmir march”. He went to Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir and courted arrest with 100 BJP workers. He was also jailed for participating in the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation in 1992.
    In the early 1990s, he served with the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Bharatpur in various capacities. He got on well with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who was then the state president of the BJYM. Bhajan Lal, as district president of the BJYM in Bharatpur, would campaign with Birla during elections and take on organisational work for the party.
    At this time, Sharma would also often travel to Kota, where Birla lived.
    “At the time, I was posted at a school in Kota,” said his uncle Maniram. “He would come to the city and stay with me. In the morning, he would leave for Om Birla’s house. Bhajan Lal and Om Birla would campaign together during the assembly elections.”
    First tryst with elections
    In 2000, Sharma contested his first election – a panchayat poll. He won, and became sarpanch of Atari gram sabha. Three years later, the BJP denied him a ticket from Nadbai during the assembly polls. So, Sharma quit and fought on the lock-and-key symbol of a new party, the Rajasthan Samajik Nyay Manch, which had been floated by Devi Singh Bhati and Lokendra Singh Kalvi.
    “He did not tell us that he was denied a ticket by the BJP,” Bhati, a seven-time MLA from Bikaner’s Kolayat, told Newslaundry. “But he did say this to me: ‘Since reservation is the goal of the party, I will fight this battle.’” The RSNM’s main poll plank then was reservation for economically weaker sections.
    The Nadbai seat was eventually won by an independent candidate named Krishnendra Kaur. The BJP candidate came fourth with 13,949 votes and Sharma came fifth with 5,969 votes. The RSNM won only one seat in the polls. Bhati, considered a Raje loyalist, rejoined the BJP this September. This election, his grandson Anshuman Singh Bhati won from Kolayat in Bikaner on a BJP ticket.

  • New York-based social activist Bhandari elected President of leading Rajasthani diaspora organization

    Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA) has elected Prem Bhandari as president, Kanak Golia as vice president, Neelam Modi as secretary and Kushal Sancheti as treasure, according to Ashok Sancheti, Election Commissioner for the organization.

    NEW YORK (TIP): New York-based social activist Prem Bhandari has been elected president of leading diaspora organization Rajasthan Association of North America (RANA), New York. The Executive Committee of RANA, New York comprises Bhandari as president, Kanak Golia elected as vice president, Neelam Modi, secretary and Kushal Sancheti, treasurer. Election Commissioner for the organization Ashok Sancheti said the members of the executive committee were elected unopposed. The organization has held several international conventions over the years, for which Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje had been invited. RANA focuses on highlighting and promoting Rajasthani cultural heritage in the country as well as acting as a bridge between diaspora here and the state. Bhandari said plans are on the anvil to organize a global RANA convention soon. The Consulate General of India here along with RANA and Jaipur Foot USA are organizing a virtual celebration of Rajasthan Diwas on March 30. The event will be addressed by Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, Bhandari, popular folk singer from Rajasthan Swaroop Khan and other eminent artists from the state.

    Last month, the language and cultural heritage of Rajasthan was celebrated with fervor at the Consulate General of India here on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, showcasing the state’s rich flavors and vibrant colors. The Consulate and Jaipur Foot USA had organized the special celebration of the language and cultural heritage of Rajasthan as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ on occasion of the 75th year of India’s independence.

    Bhandari, who is Chairman of Jaipur Foot USA and of REDIO – Rescuing every Distressed Indian Overseas, has been taking up the cause of OCI card holders for the past several years and also the issue of easing travel during the restrictions imposed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through REDIO, he said he has also been actively involved in helping Indians stranded in Ukraine return to their homeland.

    (Source: PTI)