New Delhi, Nov 10: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi of attempting to downplay the Emergency and shield the Nehru-Gandhi family from public scrutiny through her newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.
BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan launched a sharp attack on Gandhi, saying the book would have been more appropriately titled "Whitewashing". In a post on X, he alleged that the memoir sought to sugar-coat the historical wrongs committed by the Nehru-Gandhi family and conceal the Congress party's past actions.
The remarks came after the release of Gandhi's memoir, in which she described the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 as a mistake. She also suggested that much of the damage could have been avoided had Indira Gandhi exercised greater control over her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi.
However, Kesavan accused Sonia Gandhi of attempting to justify and normalise the Emergency rather than acknowledge the suspension of fundamental rights, restrictions on press freedom and other excesses during the period.
He also questioned her references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, accusing her of showing selective concern over communal violence and terrorism. Referring to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, he asked whether she had expressed similar concern for the victims. He also raised questions about the Congress leadership's response to the 2008 Batla House encounter and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Kesavan further questioned Sonia Gandhi's reported meeting with former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh shortly before the release of his autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough, in 2014.
Referring to Natwar Singh's account of Sonia Gandhi's decision to decline the Prime Minister's post in 2004, Kesavan asked what had prompted her to meet him after a gap of eight-and-a-half years and whether she was apprehensive about the revelations in his book. (IANS)
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