By Quaid Najmi
Mumbai, May 28 (IANS): Political discourse took another deep plunge when a BJP MP questioned the lineage of his royal relative, sending political circles in a tizzy here on Monday.
The shocking remarks came from the newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Madha, Ranjitsinh Naik-Nimbalkar, belonging to a branch of the Phaltan royal family.
The barb was directed at none other than the Chairman of Maharashtra Legislative Council Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar, who hails from the well-known Phaltan royal family in western Maharashtra.
A former Congressman who defected to the BJP recently, Ranjitsinh was addressing a thanksgiving victory rally in Phaltan, of the erstwhile royal state of Phaltan late on Friday, a day after the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In an apparent retort to Ramraje's stinging criticism during the elections questioning his lineage, Ranjitsinh questioned the royal credentials of Ramraje.
"I am the original Naik-Nimbalkar… If my DNA is tested it will go back to Naik-Nimbalkars for 96 generations. But what about you? How dare you say that I am not a ‘Naik-Nimbalkar'?" an angry Ranjitsinh asked.
Ramraje's father, a minister in the erstwhile Bombay State, the late Pratapsinh M. Naik-Nimbalkar, was the son of the 25th -- and last -- ruler of Phaltan kingdom, the late Major Raja Shrimant Sir Malojirao Naik-Nimbalkar.
"Please listen to the derogatory remarks he has made about our royal family, especially my mother. I was very reluctant, but was compelled to speak out all this," Ranjitsinh told IANS.
When contacted by IANS, Ramraje, the 27th direct descendent of the Phaltan royal family with an important role in the state's political history, politely declined to comment in the matter for the present.
However, party aides said that Ramraje is likely to address a rally in Phaltan next Sunday (June 2), when he would give a befitting reply to Ranjitsinh's below-the-belt outbursts defiling the memory of his (Ramraje's) revered parents.
The aide – requesting anonymity – said that Ranjitsinh's statement was not matched by historical facts, as recorded in the history of Phaltan State, founded in 1284, and ruled by the House of Naik-Nimbalkar since.
"As per the Phaltan State government Gazzetteer dated July 30, 1945, signed by the Dewan Rao Bahadur K. V. Godbole, the son of the then ruler Major Raja Shrimant Sir Malojirao Naik-Nimbalkar, Crown Prince Pratapsinh M. Naik-Nimbalkar, was married to Sarojini Devi Gupte on January 5, 1943," said the aide. (IANS has secured a copy of the Gazette.)
Not wishing to intervene in the private battle royale raging among the powerful scions of branches of an important royal family in the state, most BJP and NCP leaders have chosen to keep silent -- and safe -- in the matter.