TRIBUTE

Madhavrao Scindia Dies In Plane Crash

Senior Congress leader and scion of the Gwalior Royal family Madhavrao Scindia and seven others, including four mediapersons, were killed when a chartered aircraft they were travelling in crashed in Bhaisaroli village in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh on September 30. He was Deputy Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha.

Mr. Scindia was on his way to Kanpur to address the party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ rally, before the ten-seater, he was travelling in, burst into flames before crashing in the fields.

The mediapersons on board the ill-fated aircraft were Anju Sharma (Hindustan Times), Sanjiv Sinha (Indian Express), Ranjan Jha (Aaj Tak) and Gopal

Bisht (cameraman, Aaj Tak).

His Last Speech Was on Terrorism Shri Madhavrao Scindia, who died in a plane crash on September 30, had addressed his last public meeting just four days earlier at Mandsaur. He spoke at length about terrorism and said on the international campaign against terrorism, spearheaded by the U.S. after the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, India should participate in it.

The others who died were pilot Gautam Ray, co-pilot Ritu Mallick and Mr. Scindia’s private secretary Rupinder Singh.

Born on March 10, 1945 in Mumbai, Mr. Scindia ascended the Gwalior throne in 1961 at the age of 16. He served as Minister of State for Railways in the Rajiv Gandhi Government and as Minister of State for Civil Aviation and later as Human Resource Development Minister in P.V. Narsimha Rao government.

Having never lost a parliamentary election, Mr. Scindia began his political career with support from the Jan Sangh but drifted from it later to join the Congress. He successfully contested his first Lok Sabha elections from Guna in 1971 as an independent with the backing of the Sangh. His mother Rajamata Vijayaraje Scindia died early this year. He charted a political course different from his mother’s saffron path.

Mr. Scindia not only had the distinction of winning nine times as a Lok Sabha member but registered the proudest moment of his career defeating Atal Behari Vajpayee by over two lakh votes in 1984 in Gwalior.

Mr. Scindia’s political graph in the Congress soared following his handling of the key Railways portfolio in the Rajiv Gandhi government (1984-89). It was during his time that computerised Railway reservation was inducted.

The party headquarters at 24, Akbar Road, wore a sorrowful look with mournful music in the background, the smell of incense filling the air. Thousands of party workers, Mr. Scindia’s admirers and supporters and the entire Congress leadership waited as the body was brought to the AICC headquarters for partymen to pay homage.

The Congress president, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, arrived early and supervised arrangements in the hall where the body was to be kept. As soon as Mr. Scindia’s body left his 27, Safdarjung Road house atop a flower bedecked truck, she, along with the entire Congress leadership, lined up in the AICC driveway to receive it.

The body arrived close to 9 a.m. accompanied by son, Mr. Jyotiraditya Scindia, son-in-law, Mr. Vikramaditya, and the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Digvijay Singh. The body was then carried into the hall by senior party leaders and CWC members including Mr. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr. Natwar Singh, Mr. Mukul Wasnik, Mr. Fotedar and Mr. Digvijay Singh, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, personally escorted members of the Scindia family into the hall. Slogans hailing Mr. Scindia rented the air.

The body was placed on an elevated platform and kept draped in a Congress flag as leaders and workers filed past the body. Mrs. Gandhi was the first to offer flowers and later all the CWC, CEC, AICC office-bearers, party MPs and Chief Ministers went up one by one to offer their respects.

Prominent amongst those who came to pay their respects were Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her husband Mr. Robert Vadra, the Pakistan High Commissioner, Mr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the RSS chief, Mr. K.R. Sudershan, and the VHP spokesperson, Mr. M.G. Vaidya. Thousands of workers had lined up outside and slowly filed past the body. Mr. Digvijay Singh who had flown in from London kept shaking his head in disbelief. Mr. Singh and Mr. Scindia were both contemporaries.

The mortal remains of Madhavrao Scindia were consigned to flames at the "Amma Maharaj Ki Chhatri" in Gwalior with full state honours and royal traditions amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns. Slogans of ‘Madhavrao Amar Rahe’ rented the air. Just before Prince Jyotiraditya lit the pyre, Scindia was given a 21-gun salute by the Army.

The body of Scindia was brought to the cremation ground in the traditional royal ‘Palki’ (palenquin) from the Jai Vilas Palace where the body was kept in State for the people to pay their homage.

Present on the occasion were a galaxy of leaders from across the political spectrum. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, his Cabinet colleagues, the Congress president, Smt. Sonia Gandhi and the entire party leadership, state Governors and Chief Ministers, former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar and other prominent personalities from all walks of life paid tributes.