Princesses from the erstwhile royal families of Jaipur and Bikaner strongly condemned Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday for “tarnishing the image of former kings and their principalities and belittling their contributions to the unification of India post-Independence.”
Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and scion of the former Jaipur royal family, Diya Kumari, along with Princess Siddhi Kumari of Bikaner, said that the vision of a united India was only possible due to the sacrifices made by the erstwhile royal families of India.
Reacting to Gandhi’s allegations of bribes against the former royals made in a recent newspaper column, the Deputy Chief Minister stated, “I strongly condemn what Rahul Gandhi has written about bribes. The Leader of Opposition has alleged that royal families accepted bribes and has criticized them.”
She added, “Former royal rulers made significant sacrifices and contributed to the unification of India. It was these rulers who came forward and offered their proactive support and cooperation to then Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the formation of a new, unified India.”
The Jaipur princess continued, “Perhaps Gandhi lacks knowledge of our history; it would be appropriate for an MP of his stature to gather facts and acquire proper knowledge on the subject before making such statements.”
Princess of Bikaner and sitting BJP MLA, Siddhi Kumari, echoed these sentiments on her Twitter page, writing, “I strongly condemn Mr Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to malign the erstwhile royal families of India in an editorial. The vision of a united India was only possible due to the sacrifices of these royal families. Such baseless allegations are completely unacceptable.”
Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also endorsed and reposted Siddhi Kumari’s post.
In his column, Rahul Gandhi discussed the East India Company and how it used its business influence to spread fear and plunder the country, facilitated by the compliance of “pliable maharajas and nawabs.”