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Wayanad: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday strongly backed her mother Sonia Gandhi’s newly released memoir, accusing the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of having spread unverified claims and false narratives about the former Congress president for years.
Her comments came as the ruling party sharpened its attack on the book, alleging that it soft-pedals some of the most contentious chapters of Congress rule.
Reacting to questions from reporters during a visit to her Wayanad constituency, Priyanka said Sonia Gandhi had largely remained silent while others freely made claims about her personal and political life. She argued that the memoir now gives her mother an opportunity to present her own version of events.
“For most of my mother’s adult life in India, the BJP, RSS, and many others have said whatever they wanted to say about her. They have told lies, they have fabricated stories, they have completely invented things and she has been quiet. Now she is telling her story. She has a right to tell her story,” the Wayanad MP said.
‘BJP’s Criticism Unsurprising’
Priyanka said the BJP’s dismissal of the memoir was unsurprising, arguing that the party had long targeted Sonia Gandhi with allegations and was now reacting to a book that offers her own account. “For so long they have been telling lies about my mother. Now she is telling the truth. So obviously they are going to say that (it is false). What else can they say? Anyways, I am very happy they are reading her book,” she said.
The Congress MP added that the memoir reflects Sonia Gandhi’s personal explanations and political perspective, rather than an attempt to impose a single interpretation of history, as reported by The New Indian Express. “Whatever she wanted to explain or whatever was her point of view, she has put in her book. Everyone has their own personal point of view. Everyone has their own story, right,” she said.
BJP Calls Book ‘Whitewashing’
The BJP launched its criticism on Tuesday, shortly after Belonging: A Journey of Love was released. The party alleged that Sonia Gandhi had sought to justify the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 and had given a “clean chit” to her late husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
BJP leaders also accused the memoir of presenting a selective account of violence and national-security matters, claiming that its concerns were shaped by electoral considerations. The party said the book should have been titled “whitewashing” instead of Belonging.
Sonia Gandhi’s memoir was released on Tuesday and has drawn sharply divided reactions, with supporters calling it a personal account of her life and critics questioning its treatment of major events in modern Indian political history.
