Sonia Gandhi’s Memoir Sparks Political Row as BJP and VHP Launch Criticism

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s newly released memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, has triggered a political controversy. The BJP and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) have criticised the book, raising objections to its references to the 1975 Emergency and other historical events. BJP national spokesperson C.R. Kesavan alleged that the memoir attempts to justify the Emergency and gloss over the historical mistakes of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the Congress party. He sarcastically suggested that the book should have been titled Whitewashing instead of Belonging. In the memoir, Sonia Gandhi describes the Emergency imposed by her mother-in-law and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 as a mistake. She also writes that she believes Indira Gandhi eventually came to share that view. Sonia further says that keeping Sanjay Gandhi under control could have prevented several problems during that period.

Kesavan also questioned Sonia Gandhi’s references to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the 2008 Batla House encounter. He asked whether she had expressed similar grief over the 1984 anti-Sikh violence and the deaths of security personnel and civilians in terrorist attacks. Meanwhile, the VHP accused Sonia Gandhi of hurting Hindu sentiments and indulging in what it described as appeasement politics. VHP central joint general secretary Surendra Jain alleged that her expressions of grief were politically motivated and demanded an apology. He also criticised her for expressing concern over the Babri Masjid demolition and the Batla House encounter while, according to him, remaining silent on violence against Hindus and the death of police officer Mohan Chand Sharma, who succumbed to injuries sustained during the Batla House operation. These remarks have added to the political debate surrounding the release of Sonia Gandhi’s memoir.