New Delhi: The BJP, on Tuesday, accused Sonia Gandhi of attempting to soften the record of the Emergency and shield the Nehru-Gandhi family from scrutiny through her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
The book could more accurately have been titled “Whitewashing”, BJP national spokesperson C R Kesavan said, alleging that its purpose was to “sugar-coat” decisions taken during successive Congress governments.
“Sonia Gandhi could have titled her memoir as ‘Whitewashing’ instead of ‘Belonging’, because the motive of this book appears to be sugar-coating the historical wrongs perpetrated by the Nehru-Gandhi family and camouflaging the cardinal sins committed by the Congress party,” Kesavan said in a post on X.
His criticism came as the former Congress president’s memoir, released during the day, described the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 as a mistake and claimed she believes her mother-in-law eventually came to the same conclusion, as reported by NDTV.
Much of the damage during the Emergency could have been prevented had Indira Gandhi kept her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, “in check”, Sonia mentioned in the memoir.
The memoir is an attempt to “justify and normalise” the Emergency rather than confront the suspension of fundamental rights, press censorship and other excesses committed then, Kesavan has claimed.
He also questioned Sonia’s references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and accused her of being selective in expressing grief over communal violence and terrorism.
“She says she cried for Babri Masjid. Did Sonia Gandhi shed even a drop of tear when gurdwaras were targeted and thousands of innocent people were violently killed during the 1984 Sikh massacre, which happened during Congress rule?” he said.
Referring to the controversy over Congress leaders’ response to the 2008 Batla House encounter, the BJP leader questioned whether Sonia had shown similar concern for Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel killed in action.
“Did Sonia Gandhi cry for the innocent lives lost in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which happened under the Congress government? Will her book answer why the Congress-led UPA government failed to retaliate?” he said.
Kesavan took the criticism to a new area with his question about whether Sonia’s memoir would address the circumstances of her visit to former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh’s home shortly before the publication of his 2014 autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough.
Singh had written about events surrounding Sonia’s decision not to become prime minister after the Congress emerged as the largest party in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. According to Kesavan, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi met him before the memoir was published and discussed the portions dealing with that period.
That visit had taken place after a gap of eight-and-a-half years, Kesavan claimed, asking what had prompted it.
“Why, and what was Sonia Gandhi so apprehensive about what Natwar Singh would write in his book about events leading to the swearing-in of the UPA government in 2004?” he said.
“The Congress regime at the Centre for nearly 55 years inflicted unfathomable damage and scars on Indian polity and our democracy,” Kesavan added, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with correcting what he described as the Congress’s “historical wrongs”.
