Kesavan alleged that Sonia was trying to "justify and normalise" the Emergency. Screengrab: ANI
BJP targets Sonia over memoir, accuses her of 'whitewashing' Emergency
BJP's K C Kesavan attacks Sonia Gandhi's memoir, accusing her of glossing over the Emergency and controversial decisions of Congress governments
Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love has become a fresh bone of contention between the Congress and the BJP with the saffron party on Tuesday (November 10) accusing her of trying to gloss over the Emergency and other decisions taken by erstwhile Congress governments.
Taking to X, BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan said that the memoir should have been titled "Whitewashing" and accused Sonia of attempting to soften the historical record of the Congress.
"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.
BJP targets Sonia's account of the Emergency
The development comes on the day of the release of Sonia's memoir. The former Congress president has described in the book the Emergency imposed by her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in 1975 as a mistake. She further stated that Indira eventually reached the same conclusion.
Sonia further stated that much of the damage could have been avoided had Indira kept her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, "in check".
Kesavan further alleged that Sonia was trying to "justify and normalise" the Emergency, during which fundamental rights were suspended and the press faced censorship.
Questioning the Congress leader’s reference to Babri Masjid’s demolition, the BJP spokesperson asked why she had not expressed similar grief over the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.
"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 added.
Kesavan brings up Batla House and 26/11
The BJP spokesperson also referred to the controversy over Congress leaders' response to the 2008 Batla House encounter. He questioned whether Sonia had shown similar concern for CRPF personnel killed in action.
Also Read: Sonia calls Penguin's decision on her memoir 'an attempt to censor' the book
"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.
Natwar Singh's book also figures in BJP attack
Kesavan then raised Sonia's visit to former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh's home before the release of his 2014 autobiography, One Life Is Not Enough.
Singh had written about Sonia's decision to decline the Prime Minister's post after Congress emerged as the largest party in the 2004 Lok Sabha election. His account said Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi met him before publication and discussed passages about that period.
Also Read: ‘It will take time to restore our systems’: Sonia Gandhi on 12 years of Modi rule
Kesavan asked why the meeting took place after a gap of eight-and-a-half years.
"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. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with correcting what he called the Congress's "historical wrongs".