Gwalior 'Rajmata' Madhavi Raje passes away, Condolences pour in

Madhavi Raje Scindia (70), the queen mother of the Gwalior royal family and mother of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, passed away on Wednesday.Her last rites will be performed with traditional rituals in Gwalior Thursday afternoon. Sources close to the Scindia family informed that she breathed her last at 9.28 am at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Her family members were with her during that time.

Scindia, wife of former Union Minister Madhav Rao Scindia, was unwell for the last three months and was undergoing treatment at AIIMS for about two months. Her condition was critical over the last two weeks and she was on ventilator.She belonged to the Rana dynasty of Nepal. The head of this dynasty was Juddha Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana, who was also the Prime Minister of Nepal.

She was married to the then Maharaja of Gwalior Madhav Rao Scindia on May 8, 1966. Before becoming the daughter-in-law of the Scindia royal family, her name was Kiran Raj Lakshmi.She and Madhav Rao have a daughter Chitrangada Raje and a son Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The mortal remains of Scindia will be kept for last darshan at her residence at 27 Safdarjung Road between 3 pm to 7 pm. Her mortal remains will be taken to Gwalior by plane tomorrow morning.

After the last darshan at Rani Mahal in the afternoon, the last rites will be performed at around 3.30 pm at Chhatri of Scindia Dynasty in Gwalior, where the last rites of the people of Scindia dynasty have been traditionally performed.

Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Mohan Yadav has expressed deep condolences on her demise. He said, “Received the heart-wrenching news of the demise of Smt. Madhavi Raje Scindia, the revered mother of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union Minister, Honorable Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia ji. Mother is the basis of life, her death is an irreparable loss to life. I pray to Baba Mahakal to grant the departed virtuous soul a place at his feet and strength to his family members to bear this deep sorrow.”

Expressing condolences, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said, “The demise of the revered mother of Honorable Union Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia ji is extremely sad. My humble tribute to her! My condolences are with the bereaved family. It is a prayer to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed soul a place at his feet and the bereaved family members the strength to bear this sorrow.”

Senior Congress leader and former CM of MP, Digvijay Singh, said in his condolence message, “Deeply saddened to hear the news of the tragic demise of respected Rajmata Madhavi Raje Scindia. We have shared familial bonds. She had a very polite personality. Our condolences to Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia ji and all the family members. May God grant peace to het soul. Om Shanti Om Shanti Om Shanti.”

Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, MP Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar, MP BJP President VD Sharma, former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, former Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, former Union Minister Suresh Pachauri, Congress leader Arun Yadav and many other leaders expressed deep condolence on her demise.(UNI)<>