Members of the Rajput group Karni Sena on Wednesday attacked the home of Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra, objecting to his comments describing 16th-century Rajput ruler Rana Sanga as a “traitor”, ANI reported.

On March 21, Suman spoke in the Rajya Sabha about the Battle of Khanwa of 1527, in which Mughal emperor Babur defeated a Rajput alliance led by Sanga. The battle solidified Mughal dominance in northern India.

Suman claimed in the Rajya Sabha that Rana Sanga had invited Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi, the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, The Indian Express reported.

“Indian Muslims do not consider Babur their idol,” the Samajwadi Party MP said. “But I want to ask, who brought Babur here? It was Rana Sanga who invited Babur to defeat Ibrahim Lodi. So, if Muslims are called the descendants of Babur, then Hindus must be the descendants of traitor Rana Sanga. We criticise Babur, but why don’t we criticise Rana Sanga?”

The remarks sparked an uproar, with Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat saying that only an individual with a “trivial intellect” and a “small heart” could have made such remarks.

Karni Sena leader Mahipal Makrana said that “nothing big happened” during the group’s protest and that only some chairs were broken, PTI reported.

“This is just a trailer,” he said. “We should have given them a strong answer way earlier. We are very tolerant, but if people like him say offensive things about our great leaders like Rana Sanga... I want to warn all that if any of our members are hurt and mistreated, we will stage a much bigger protest across the country.”

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that Suman had only “sought to give an example of one-sided historical narratives and one-sided definition”, and that the party was not questioning Rana Sanga’s valour and patriotism.

“Our effort is not to insult the Rajput community, or any other group,” Yadav said. “Today's democratic system cannot run on the basis of historical events. The BJP government should change its divisive habit and pay attention to the livelihood, health and security of the people instead.”