By Sanjiv Acharya
It was quite some time ago that the Congress party had issued a circular that nobody in the party would use titles such as “Raja,” “Maharaja,” “Kunwar”, “Prince,” or “Princess, which the erstwhile royal family members have been using. Sources in the All India Congress Committee had said at that time that it was Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion to issue such a circular. But the irony is that not one of those so-called royal politicians has stopped using such titles. Instead, the closest aide of Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP from Alwar, Jitendra Singh went one step further by organizing a public ceremony to be crowned as Maharaja of Alwar following the death of his grandfather. Earlier he was “Bhanwar Jitendra Singh,” but now he is the Maharaja of Alwar. The former maharaja of Jaipur, Brigadier Bhawani Singh crowned him as the 8th maharaja of the Alwar estate following the death of his grandfather Maharaja Tej Singh. He is a close friend of Rahul Gandhi and due to his proximity, this first term MP was included in the Union Council of Ministers as the MoS Home. Now, Pulak Chatterjee, Sonia Gandhi’s man is the new PMO in charge, and Rahul’s man Jitendra is the point man in the Home Ministry. Long live the kings…
This is not true. The journalist seems to be motivated by factors beyond journalistic traditions because either he is not aware of the public style of functioning of Mr. Jitendra Singh or wants to play to the tune called by a hidden actor. In all his public dealings, he comports himself with utmost civility, goes man-to-man at each approach. Infact, I hear that his standing instructions are to not address him by the title that he holds as part of his family tradition. His title is a matter of family tradition, that is staged as a function amongst the scions of his community. And last, but not the least, he is one of the most approachable, progressive political leaders around. Here’s proof: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-14/jaipur/29772792_1_union-minister-internal-security-first-visit