Closing 1857 chapter? Jyotiraditya Scindia prays at Rani Lakshmibai’s samadhi

BHOPAL: Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the memorial of Rani Lakshmibai in Gwalior on Sunday and offered floral tributes — the first time a Scindia has done so.
It’s being seen as an attempt by Scindia to silence critics who say the then Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior had refused to help the Rani of Jhansi during the revolt of 1857 — the first war of Indian Independence.
While in Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia and his late father, former Union minister Madhavrao Scindia, were attacked by BJP for “betrayal of Rani of Jhansi”. Former Bajrang Dal president and Gwalior’s political stalwart, Jaibhan Singh Pawaiyya, had repeatedly criticized the Scindia royalty for being “subservient to the British”. After Scindia switched to BJP, Congress began hurling the 1857 barbs at him.
Just two days ago, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had said at a party workers’ training session in Bhopal: “You know the history of those who left the party. Had they fought unitedly against the British, perhaps the British would have left India in 1857.”
On Sunday, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was visiting Gwalior when he went to the Rani Lakshmibai Samadhi in Phool Bagh in the heart of the city. He offered floral tributes, walked around the memorial and offered prayers with folded hands.
Congress took a dig at the Union minister, with party spokesman Narendra Saluja tweeting: “Shrimant (the title of Scindia royalty) went to the memorial of Rani Lakshmibai… Now it seems the followers of Jaibhan Singh Pawaiyya and Rani Lakshmibai can wash the site with Gangajal. What not is BJP making Shrimant do for a post and a chair.”