Scindia, Ramesh engage in Twitter war over Gwalior royal family's history

A war of words erupted between Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Twitter over the history of the erstwhile royal Scindia family of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.

While Ramesh shared a poem critical of the Scindia family, the Union minister told the Congress leader to study history more than poetry.

Scindia cited a quote from Jawaharlal Nehru's book Glimpse of World History.

Quoting a news report in which Scindia slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Ramesh in a tweet said, "Has he forgotten Subhadra Kumari Chauhan's immortal poem on the Rani of Jhansi? Angrezo Ke Mitra Scindia Ne Chhodi Rajdhani Thi, Bundele Harbolo Ke Munh Hamne Suni Kahani Thi, Khoob Ladi Mardani Wah Tou Jhansi Wali Rani Thi."

In the poem, the Scindias are referred to as friends of the British.

Responding to Ramesh's quote, Scindia issued a series of tweets on Wednesday night, in which he asked the Congress leader to read poems less and history more while quoting a paragraph from Nehru's 'Glimpses of World History' that said, "Thus they (Marathas) had practically inherited the Delhi Empire. The Marathas remained to challenge British supremacy. But the Maratha power went to pieces after the death of Mahadji Scindia."

In another tweet, Scindia quoted another paragraph from the same book that said, "The Marathas defeated the British in the South in 1782. In the north, Scindia of Gwalior was dominant and controlled the poor hapless Emperor of Delhi."

Earlier in the day, Scindia, former Congress leader, had launched a sharp attack on Rahul Gandhi and his old party, alleging that the party has been left with no ideology except the one of a "traitor" which works against the country.

Scindia, scion of Gwalior royal family, was in the Congress for a long time and was considered a close associate of Rahul Gandhi.

He quit the grand old party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2020 following differences with its leadership, leading to the fall of the Kamal Nath-led government in Madhya Pradesh.