Rahul Gandhi's Remarks Draw Royal Pushback From J Scindia, Cousin Dushyant

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's remarks at a rally in Madhya Pradesh yesterday, in which he said backward classes had no rights before Independence and only kings were powerful, has riled up BJP leaders from erstwhile royal families.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and his cousin and BJP MP Dushyant Singh have hit out at the Leader of the Opposition, saying that his remarks show his ignorance of the contributions of erstwhile royal families.

Addressing the Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan rally in Madhya Pradesh's Mhow yesterday, Mr Gandhi said, "Remember, before Independence and before the Constitution, the poor in this country had no rights, the Dalits had no rights, the backward classes had no rights, the tribals had no rights. Only rajas and maharajas had rights. The Independence brought rights. You got land and land rights."