Mysuru/New Delhi: Opposition Leader in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has stoked a controversy, with his latest column in a leading daily, titled ‘Match- fixing monopoly Vs fairplay business — Time to choose freedom over fear.’

Rahul Gandhi has written: “India was silenced by the East India Company. It was silenced not by its business prowess, but by its choke-hold. The Company choked India by partnering with, bribing and threatening our more pliant Maharajas and Nawabs.”

Reacting to the above, Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, who is also the Titular Head of the erstwhile Mysore Royal Family that ruled the Princely Mysore State for 600 years, said Rahul Gandhi’s “lack of knowledge of true history is on constant display.”

In a post on ‘X,’ Yaduveer said: “His  (Rahul Gandhi) latest statement, via an article, reflects his ignorance of the contributions made by the erstwhile Princely States towards today’s Bharat, the patronisation of Bharatiya Heritage, without which, we might have lost many of the traditions we hold dear today and most importantly, the sacrifices they made towards the formation of a unified India. I strongly condemn his choice of words in the article and the insinuations made by him.”

Yaduveer has demanded Rahul Gandhi to say in public who took the bribe or else he should tender an apology in public.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, a descendant of the Scindia Royal Family of Madhya Pradesh,    said “those who sell hatred have no right to lecture on Indian pride and history.”

“Rahul Gandhi’s ignorance about Bharat’s rich heritage and his Colonial mindset have crossed all limits. If you claim to ‘uplift’ the nation, stop insulting Bharat Mata and learn about true Indian heroes like Mahadji Scindia, Yuvraj Bir Tikendrajit, Kittur Rani Chennamma and Rani Velu Nachiyar, who fiercely fought for our freedom,” said Scindia, who switched side to BJP from Congress in 2020.

Similarly, most of the leaders associated with the BJP and descendants of erstwhile royal families of Jaipur, Mewar and Udaipur of Rajasthan, Dewas in Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to name a few, have taken exceptions to Rahul Gandhi’s opinion, insulting their ancestors.